Porsche is really getting anxious.
Wen | New Product Strategy Finance Wu Wenwu
01 Porsche responds to "Mi Shijie" for the first time
At the end of March, Xiaomi SU7, the first model of Xiaomi Automobile, went on the market, just like a catfish stirring the whole automobile industry.
Because Xiaomi SU7 looks like Porsche, it has been controversial and has been ridiculed by netizens as "Mi Shijie" or "Bao Shimi".
On the second day after the listing of Xiaomi SU7, a street photo of "Mi Shijie" and "Porsche" appeared on the Internet. If you don’t look at the logo, you really can’t tell who is who.
Lei Jun said at the press conference that Xiaomi Automobile wants to build a Dream Car comparable to Porsche and Tesla.
After the release of Xiaomi SU7, Porsche’s official live broadcast room was also lively.
What is even more embarrassing is that in the live broadcast rooms of some Porsche dealers, many people ran to ask Xiaomi Automobile, and some anchors couldn’t help but post it directly: This is Porsche! Not Xiaomi!
Xiaomi SU7 looks like Porsche. If it is viewed from product identification and communication, Xiaomi Automobile is "successful".
On April 14th, some media interviewed the president of Porsche China and asked how to look at "Mi Shijie". Michael Kirsc, President and CEO of Porsche China, said: Maybe a good design always has a heart.
This is compared with the embarrassed, surprised and helpless frown expressions that Porsche executives showed when they saw Zotye’s "cottage" Cayenne model at the auto show a few years ago. This time, the answer of Porsche China’s top leader is very clever.
Some netizens commented that Porsche is worthy of being a world famous brand and its pattern is large enough. Some netizens also commented that emotional intelligence is very high.
It is undeniable that the design of Porsche models can not only affect Xiaomi, but also the products of many car companies are very similar to Porsche, such as "time-saving race".
When Xiaomi SU7 was first listed, New Product Finance talked with a senior person in the automobile industry about its design topic, and he replied: I dare not buy it!
To put it more bluntly, from the design point of view, many new car-making forces in China are crossing the river by touching Porsche.
Porsche is really starting to get anxious.
Since last year, the sales volume of Porsche in China market has declined, which has aroused considerable concern in the market.
Porsche sold 320,221 vehicles worldwide in 2023, an increase of 3% over 2022. In 2023, the sales volume of Porsche in China market was 79,283 vehicles, which was 15% lower than that of 93,286 vehicles in 2022.
In the third quarter of 2023, Porsche’s sales in China market plummeted by 40%. In the first quarter of this year, Porsche delivered 16,340 vehicles in China, a year-on-year decrease of 24%, which once again attracted market attention.
You know, Porsche entered the mainland market of China in 2001, and it has been soaring all the way. Since 2015, the China market has become the largest single market for Porsche in the world.
As for the reasons for the decline in sales, Ke Shimai, President and CEO of Porsche China, replied that there was a time gap between the release and delivery of new products, and Porsche adhered to the strategy of "quality is more important than quantity", coupled with the staged sales rebound in the same period last year due to the epidemic, which made the base of the same period last year higher.
However, the market has different views on the decline of Porsche sales.
After careful observation, it will be found that the sales of the Cayenne and Macan, the two main models sold by Porsche in the China market, declined in 2023, and the sales of Macan, the lower-priced vehicle, declined even more seriously.
What’s even more surprising is that since 2013, dealers all over the country have shouted discounts, and the price reduction behavior of dealers has also affected Porsche’s brand reputation.
What is more noteworthy is that Porsche’s buying crowd and consumption behavior are changing.
Porsche has publicly stated that compared with other Porsche markets, the average age of car owners in China is the youngest, and the proportion of female car owners has reached about 50% of the highest. Take Macan as an example. At present, Macan’s biggest market is in China. The average age of car owners in China is mainly between 20 and 55, and the average age is 20 years younger than that in Europe and America, among which 61% are female car owners.
Cosmai said that at present, more than 70% of Porsche customers in China are self-employed, and they are more cautious about consumption during the economic recovery period. This shows that Porsche also has its own judgment on the luxury car consumption market in China.
There is another data worthy of attention. Porsche said that Generation Z has become the main consumer group, accounting for about 15% of the market.
The new generation of young people, represented by Generation Z, is obviously different from the consumers of previous generations of traditional luxury cars. Besides brand factors, they also care about exclusivity, cultural attributes and the different feelings that brands can bring to themselves.
Porsche’s sales decline and lost market share in China were taken away not only by rivals such as BMW X5, but also by new energy luxury car brands. The latter point deserves more attention.
A new generation of young China consumers used to focus on luxury brands such as BBA and Porsche, such as Macan, which was favored by many middle-class families and young Bai Fumei.
Nowadays, many young consumers have turned to buy high-end brands of new forces in China, and even many young consumers are willing to spend 400,000 to 500,000 yuan, or even higher, to buy a car of new forces in China for early adopters.
Therefore, Porsche is really anxious for many reasons, such as the replacement of Porsche, the competition in the automobile industry and the changes in the luxury car consumption market.
The era of Porsche’s lying win is over.
In the era of traditional fuel vehicles, Porsche is a big winner brand, and its brand positioning is between luxury cars and ultra-luxury brands. When many BBA owners change cars, if the brand is up, but the budget is not enough, Porsche is a main choice.
BYD, which took the lead in the transformation of traditional fuel vehicle brands, also launched luxury and super brands such as Tengshi, Equation Leopard and Wangwang, and became a strong rising force.
In the field of new energy vehicles, the high-end and luxury brands of new energy vehicles represented by Weilai and Ideality have attracted a large part of China consumers, including young consumers.
Owners who can buy a domestic high-end luxury new energy brand will definitely buy a Porsche Macan in terms of consumption power, which will naturally take away Porsche customers.
Therefore, the era of Porsche winning in China market is over.
According to New Product Finance, Porsche can only accelerate its change, development and running in the China market in the future, so as to save the downward trend of sales and rise again.
First, Porsche should put down its posture and face up to multi-faceted competition.
Porsche is a luxury brand, which can stand out from the rest in the era of traditional fuel vehicles. However, in the current China automobile market, the win-win era is over, and Porsche must first put down its posture.
Recently, at the press conference, Porsche clearly listed nine competitors, including Mercedes-Benz and BMW, as well as five rival brands from China, such as Lotus, Zhiji, Polar Star, Weilai and Extreme Krypton.
It seems that Porsche has also begun to face up to China’s rival brands.
Second, Porsche should accelerate the electrification of China automobile market and further accelerate its localization.
Porsche is backed by audi ag, and audi ag is the best in the transformation and development of new energy among all traditional and established car companies. In 2023, the sales volume of pure electric vehicles in audi ag was 771,100, up 34.7% year-on-year, ranking third in the world, including Porsche.
Porsche has launched a brand-new electric Macan, and the first batch of new cars are expected to be delivered in the fourth quarter of this year, which still attracts a lot of attention.
Porsche still has brand influence in China market, and consumers will still be willing to buy Porsche plug-in hybrid and pure electric brand models. In the future, Porsche needs to further accelerate its localization.
Third, Porsche needs to be more sincere and sincere in the China market.
There have been many negative news about Porsche in China market. Because of arrogance, consumers have different views on Porsche.
Two years ago, due to the lack of cores, Porsche reduced the number of vehicles owned by China owners, and reduced the electric adjustment function of steering column to "manual steering column". Not only did the promised free upgrade plan not be honored, but the original replacement plan was replaced with a voucher worth 2,300 yuan (the cost of installing electronic steering in 4S stores was about 30,000 yuan), which made the owners angry and gradually evolved into collective rights protection.
Porsche’s double-standard attitude towards domestic and foreign car owners has made many consumers chilling.
Now, China is the largest single market for Porsche. Only by paying enough attention to the China market and showing sincerity can Porsche attract more consumers in China.
In the future, whether in the traditional fuel vehicle market or the pure electric market, Porsche will still be a big player, and its advantages will still be there, but the competitive pressure it will face will be greater and greater.
