Porsche sales drop despite jump in US demand

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A jump in Porsche deliveries to North America by more than a third failed to offset sharp declines in other key markets in the first quarter, sending sales down 8 per cent at the German luxury-car maker.

The carmaker behind the 911 and more modern, lower-priced electric models such as the Macan on Tuesday said its deliveries to North American customers soared 37 per cent in the first quarter compared with last year.

Porsche partly attributed the large increase to comparatively low figures last year, when thousands of its cars were held at US ports due to banned Chinese components. But a person familiar with sales in the country said new orders from US customers had also risen, with Porsche buyers unusually willing to skip custom features that typically delay delivery.

That increase failed to offset big drops in Germany and China, where deliveries fell 34 per cent and 42 per cent respectively, pushing global deliveries in the first quarter down to 71,470 cars.

US President Donald Trump’s 25 per cent tariffs on imported cars come at a time when global automotive companies face unprecedented pressures both in China and Europe, amid slowing consumer spending and growing competition from Chinese EV start-ups.

Mercedes-Benz yesterday said its US sales in the first quarter were more robust than elsewhere, as it posted a 1 per cent increase in the American market compared with 10 per cent drops in Germany and China respectively.

For Porsche, the global sales slump driven by a collapse in demand in China has been so severe that North America is now its largest market, underscoring the threat of tariffs to its profit base.

Last month, the company cut its midterm target on profit margins from 19 to 15-17 per cent, as it warned that US tariffs — which had not then been announced — could force it to revise its guidance further.