Porsche in free fall in China. For BMW international decline of 4% | EUROtoday

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2024 has confirmed to be a very troublesome yr for the German automotive trade. The giants Porsche and BMW, particularly, have suffered vital declines in gross sales, highlighting the profound difficulties of a sector that’s dealing with unprecedented challenges in strategic markets resembling China and Europe.

Porsche: gross sales in free fall of 28% in China

Porsche suffered an enormous blow on the Chinese market, the place gross sales recorded a dramatic drop of 28%, falling from 79,283 items in 2023 to 56,887 in 2024. This collapse inevitably additionally affected the worldwide efficiency of the model, which closed the yr with an general decline of three%, promoting 310,718 automobiles.

The disaster in the actual property sector in China, mixed with financial stagnation, has considerably diminished shopper curiosity in luxurious items, penalizing manufacturers resembling Porsche. To attempt to answer this example, the corporate introduced a downsizing of the seller community within the nation. However, some indicators of hope arrived within the final months of the yr, with a restoration in demand in Germany, the place gross sales elevated by 11%.

BMW: a world decline of 4%

BMW, for its half, has not remained resistant to the disaster, with international gross sales contracting by 4%, for a complete of two.45 million automobiles. The group, which additionally consists of the Mini and Rolls-Royce manufacturers, has confronted a mix of issues – from a pricey recall of 1.5 million automobiles for brake system faults to a drop in demand in China.

The Chinese market, which was as soon as a cornerstone for BMW, recorded a double-digit slowdown of 13.4%. Consumers now seem to more and more want native producers, resembling BYD, marking a paradigm shift throughout the world’s main automotive market. Worth noting is the very optimistic market development for BMW in Italy.