Reading Between the Lines of a Crazy Pandemic Sales Year
2020 was certainly a wild ride from many perspectives and the business climate was generally disrupted throughout the country. You therefore, don’t need to be a rocket scientist to predict lower sales results from most enterprises. Having said that, Porsche posted results that actually are not too shabby and in fact, still show growth when compared to 2018.
Yes, overall sales declined by a little over 4000 cars, but volume held up pretty well considering the obscure environment or “new normal” that we find ourselves in. Don’t worry though, uncle Joe and the blue cavalry will sort it all out real soon and everything will be back to…well, different. So what do the sales numbers really tell us?
| Full-Year Comparison |
||
Chassis |
2020 |
2019 |
| ALL 911 | 8,840 | 9,265 |
| ALL 718 | 3,447 | 3,880 |
| ALL TAYCAN | 4,414 | 130 |
| ALL PANAMERA | 3,870 | 6,625 |
| ALL CAYENNE | 18,092 | 19,001 |
| ALL MACAN | 18,631 | 22,667 |
| GRAND TOTALS | 57,294 | 61,568 |
What’s Lurking in the Numbers?
The most obvious highlight in the numbers is the Taycan. Over four thousand new all electric models were delivered in 2020. Interestingly, Porsche sold more of the Taycan than the 718 or Panamera. That may be caused by a backlog of orders for the new car pending the delivery, but it is interesting to see the Taycan make such an immediate impact.
SUV sales of the Macan and Cayenne remain extremely strong and significantly outperform all other models. Porsche delivered the 1 millionth Cayenne recently. Both the Macan and Cayenne sales were more than double that of the 911. The SUV and sedan sales exceed the coupe sales by a substantial margin. SUV and sedan sales were 45,000 units while sales of the 911 and 718 coupes were a more meager 12,287.
The biggest looser looks like the Panamera. It’s probably a reasonable assumption that the Taycan will absorb some of the Panamera market. The Taycan is cool, good looking and quite the talking point. The Panamera is still the ugly duckling of the model range and its sales have never really reached the Macan or Cayenne strength levels.
Bottom of the League and Facing Relegation
Sales of the 718 Boxster or Cayman platform declined again in 2020. OK, so yes, some of that can be contributed to the business climate, but sales of the entry level coupe have been on a steady decline now for a number of years. The Boxster and Cayman used to lead the league in terms of numbers of sales. The entry point into the Porsche world out sold everything. Clearly, that’s not the case today and it would seem that in fact the entry point to the Porsche world is now more likely the Macan.
With sales of the 718 pottering along at just over 3K per annum and declining, you have wonder how much more life exists in that platform. Number crunchers must be looking at the 718 and believing the investment in the models would be better directed to other areas like a hybrid 911. At some point the 718 platform will be relegated from the league – that has to happen.
The SUV Company with a Racing Pedigree
If you knew nothing of Porsche, looked at these numbers and the model lineup, you wouldn’t call this company a sports car manufacturer. Porsche has evolved significantly since the lumpy air–cooled coupe that we still cherish. However, the racing image, the classic 911 and well-focused marketing keep the brands heritage alive. This no doubt, fuels sales of SUVs with the Porsche badge.
It’s way past time that people in the Porsche world start to accept that soon, there will be more Porsche models that aren’t 911s on the planet than anything else. Talking Porsche and just focusing on the 911 and coupes is missing the point by a wide margin – a margin of about 32,720 points in 2020 to be precise!