Porsche Sales Numbers

[tonycarreon]

i know it's probably of little interest to most people, but i like seeing the numbers.

porsche released october / YTD sales a few days ago...


two interesting things to me:

• oct. sales and YTD sales for the boxster/cayman are down
• the cayenne YTD sales are nearly double last year's numbers

handy chart attached

[Dragonwind]

The Cayenne sales may be in part with winter coming soon and people getting a chance to own a Porsche or want one all year round. I'd have more respect for the model if it was factory sponsored in Rally. Thanks for sharing.

Chris

[Burg Boxster]

Food for thought... aside from Box/Cay sales being down YoY for 4+ years running, IIRC:

YTD non sports car sales (Panoramic + Pepper)= 16,858

are more than double

YTD sports car sales (Boxster / Cayman +991) = 8,076

We should thank all the Pan & Pep buyers out there for continuing to fund the sports car heritage b/c w/o them, we all might be up s#!t creek.

Also, not sure which looks more out of place... wood grain in a bar chart or in a Porsche sports car...

[Perfectlap]

The family car (Panamera) is outselling the Carrera?

This explains 20" wheels on the Carrera....

Buy these Carreras/Boxsters/Caymans while they still resemble sports cars.
Those hand me down features like SUV sized wheels are going to be diluting the sports car more and more.
Good news for all you water cooled-dinosaur Porsche owners. Those relics are going to be coveted by the deep pockets.

[thstone]

I might be in the minority but I don't quite buy into the idea that Cayenne and Panamera sales subsidize sports car development.

Porshe was able to fund sports car development on its own for 40 years and while the quantities of Cayenne and Panamera sales are quite a bit higher than the quantities of sports cars, they are still by no means or in any way "high volume" sellers.

[Perfectlap]

^ it also assumes that their flagship model, the Carrera, has had a low profit margin. If the Carrera has a low cost to produce given princely sum it retails for, then you could argue it subsidized the development of an SUV that most sports car enthusiasts were not clamoring for. And since said SUV was launched to much success Porsche hasn't really unveiled many new sports cars, just heavier, plusher versions of exisiting cars. The Cayman was pretty much already developed by way of it being a Boxster. The Carrera GT was never developed or intended for the consumer market. And the Panamera is also not a car that sports car enthusiasts were begging for.

btw, on my off topic of wheel sizes. EVO Magazine has an interesting spread on Ferrari V8's.
The 308 (Magnum PI fame) had 14" wheels. The 348 had 16" wheels. The 355 had 18". The 360 had 19". And the new space ship has 20".
From ~250 HP to ~500 HP.

[thstone]

"If the Carrera has a low cost to produce given princely sum it retails for, then you could argue it subsidized the development of an SUV..."

Exactly!

[DenverSteve]

Nothing subsidized the R&D of the Cayenne. Porsche went to VW because they didn't have the money for R&D of an SUV platform. That's why they share over 90% of their parts. VW did all the R&D work and share the platform with Porsche. As for the other cars, nothing is going to "dilute" the sports car heritage of Porsche. They are wisely diversifying their product line to make money where they can and continue to produce cars primarily for those with discretionary income. The family Panamera and Cayenne vehicles satisfy a "family man's" desire for a Porsche until he can get a 2 seater. Smart move even if I don't care for the vehicles.

[MileHighBoxster]

No surprise. All corporations go with trends. The current trends are for SUV's (which Porsche is having success with) and high-performance family vehicles. Jag, Maserati are/have been doing this for some time.