Porsche deliveries down 12 per cent because of coronavirus pandemic

Porsche delivered 116,964 cars to customers in the first half of 2020, a decline of 12 per cent on the previous year.

The primary cause of the dip is thought to be because of the closure of the firm’s dealerships as local governments imposed lockdown procedures at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

Despite being best known for its sports cars like the 911 and Cayman, it was again SUVs that saw the most volume. Porsche delivered 39,245 Cayennes and 34,430 Macans in the period.

The 911 was less affected by the pandemic, though, with almost 17,000 deliveries representing a two per cent increase on 2019. Meanwhile, the electric Taycan, a newly introduced model, sold 4,480 units.

Detlev von Platen, member of the executive board for sales and marketing at Porsche, said: “We see positive tendencies, although we continued to feel the effects of the coronavirus crisis in the second quarter, especially in the US and Europe. A crucial factor here was the month of April, when almost all Porsche Centres in these markets were still closed.

“In addition, this was a very strong second quarter in 2019 as the comparative period. We remain confident, however, and are full of energy as we tackle the challenges in the second half of the year. The continuing positive development in China and other Asian markets will help us here, too.”

Porsche also notes that while sales in Europe and the US have been hardest hit recently, the situation has been easing since May.