Porsche sales have fallen to a six-year low. But demand for the iconic model has risen

German luxury carmaker Porsche ended the first half of the year with its worst delivery figures since 2020: demand fell across all regions, most sharply in China. The company’s stock fell on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, although there was one piece of good news in the report.

From January through June, Porsche delivered 122,306 vehicles to customers—16% fewer than during the same period a year earlier. Sales fell by 13% in North America, by 6% in Germany, by 14% in other European countries, and by 18% in other regions. In China, the automaker sold 14,501 vehicles: a third worse than last year’s result and fewer than in its home market, according to Handelsblatt. There is one exception in the report—the Porsche 911: deliveries of the iconic sports car rose by 19%, to nearly 31,000 units, the publication notes.

Among the reasons for the decline, the company cited the end of production of the gasoline-powered 718 model, a high basis for comparison last year for the electric Macan, and the elimination of tax incentives for electric vehicles and hybrids in the U.S., according to Bloomberg. Porsche attributed its poor performance in the Middle East to the war in Iran, which dampened demand among affluent buyers. Sales chief Matthias Becker said the results were lower than last year’s but in line with expectations, according to Handelsblatt.

Porsche shares fell as much as 2.1% during trading in Frankfurt on July 9. Since the beginning of the year, their price has remained virtually unchanged: investors have long since recouped losses from the prolonged downturn in China. The stock typically does not experience sharp fluctuations—following the 2022 IPO, Volkswagen still holds more than three-quarters of the company, and the free float is small, according to Bloomberg.

In early July, JPMorgan Chase reaffirmed its “Buy” rating on the stock with a price target of €50, according to MarketScreener. Over the past three months, the number of buy recommendations (Buy and Overweight ratings) for Porsche shares has increased—6 versus 4—while the number of Hold and Sell (Sell and Underweight) have decreased (10 versus 14 and 7 versus 8, respectively), according to FactSet data. The service’s average target price of €44.37 per share implies growth potential of approximately 4% over the course of a year.

The German premium segment is struggling across the board. On July 8, Mercedes reported an 8% drop in passenger car deliveries in the second quarter, and a 30% drop in China. In June, BMW warned that its margin could shrink to 1% due to weak demand in China. For years, the Chinese market has been a source of growth and profit for German automakers, but it is now dominated by local manufacturers such as BYD—and they are increasingly producing high-end models, Bloomberg notes.

Michael Leiters, who took the helm at Porsche in January 2026 after 11 years at Ferrari and McLaren, is preparing another cost-cutting program—the number of job cuts could run into the thousands. He has promised to trim the model lineup and rethink development approaches, with details to be revealed this fall at a meeting with investors. The company is banking on the electric Cayenne, which went on sale in late June, according to Handelsblatt.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor