Luxury car myth shattered, Porsche sales hit the biggest drop in 16 years.

Leader of the global luxury sports car market Porsche is facing its most severe challenge since the 2009 financial crisis, with its "mythical" high growth aura abruptly fading in 2025. Latest data shows that this German manufacturer experienced the largest annual sales decline in 16 years, signaling a break in its long-term market resilience and entering a difficult period of transformation and restructuring. Affected by the sharp drop in sales data, Porsche's stock price is under pressure in the German market. As of this Friday, the company's stock price recorded its largest weekly decline since its IPO in 2022, with a weekly decline of over 10%. This market reaction highlights investors' deep concerns about the short-term profit capabilities and long-term competitive advantages of this luxury car company. Official data released by Porsche shows that its global deliveries in 2025 were 279,449 units, a 10% decrease from 310,718 units in 2024. This is the largest annual delivery decline the company has seen since the global financial crisis of 2009 severely hit consumer confidence. Management attributes this to supply shortages of specific fuel models, continued weak demand for high-end products in the Chinese market, and the company's "value-oriented" supply management strategy. This performance decline is not only a challenge for Porsche itself, but also reflects a systemic crisis in the entire European automotive industry. Facing multiple headwinds such as declining sales, profit warnings, fierce competition from Chinese brands, and weak demand for electric vehicles, market uncertainty is expected to continue into the second half of this year. Analysts generally hold a pessimistic outlook for Porsche's prospects, believing that the company will face a long transition period in the next one to two years. Supply chain shortages and strategic adjustments hit deliveries hard Porsche's Executive Board Member for Sales and Marketing, Matthias Becker, admitted in a statement that after several years of record growth, the 2025 delivery volume did not meet the previous year's level. He pointed out that this result was in line with the company's internal expectations, with the main reason being supply shortages for certain models. Specifically, Becker explained that supply shortages of the 718 and Macan petrol models directly impacted the sales data. In addition, the company's "value-oriented supply management" strategy - prioritizing per-vehicle profit over sheer volume of sales - also limited overall delivery numbers to some extent. While this reflects Porsche's intent to maintain brand premium, this strategy exacerbated the decline in sales data against the backdrop of weak market demand. Analysts' pessimism heats up Capital markets are showing a clear cautious attitude towards Porsche's prospects. According to Bloomberg data, analysts currently have a predominantly pessimistic view of Porsche, with only 5 "buy" ratings, while "neutral" and "sell" ratings reach 13 and 11 respectively. This reflects a lack of confidence in the company's ability to turn the tide in the short term. Earlier this week, Oddo BHF analyst Anthony Dick held discussions with Porsche CFO Jochen Breckner at a German investment seminar in New York. According to Bloomberg, Breckner told analysts that his attitude was now "more conservative". Based on this, Dick lowered his expectations for Porsche and pointed out that the company is in a continuing "major restructuring". He emphasized that since the IPO, Porsche's profitability has been under pressure and predicted that the next two years will be challenging "transition years" for the company. "Uncertainty" in an industry facing headwinds The troubles Porsche is currently facing bear striking similarities to other European car brands. The entire European automotive industry is mired in difficulties, constrained by declining sales, profit margin pressures, and the pains of transitioning to electric vehicles. Fierce market competition and weak demand for electric vehicles have created huge uncertainties, which are expected to persist into the second half of this year. However, some industry observers are still trying to find positive signals. The team of Bernstein analyst Stephen Reitman describes Porsche as their "wild card". They point out that the company has appointed a full-time CEO with experience from Ferrari and McLaren Automotive, providing a sense of urgency and "optimistic space" for performance improvement. However, overall, Porsche is expected to face a long period of transition in the next one to two years, and the road ahead for the entire European automotive industry remains foggy with weak demand and profit pressures. This article is reproduced from "Wall Street News," written by Ye Huiwen; GMTEight editor: Yan Wencai.