Porsche SUV sales doubled sports cars in 2016
If Apple is now a phone company, the past year has seen Porsche become an SUV brand. Together, the Macan and Cayenne duo have outsold the 718 Boxster and 718 Cayman twins, along with the 911 and Panamera – by more than double – in 2016.
The company is unlikely to fazed by this new image, however. This week, Porsche released its global sales figures for 2016, showing a new sales record of 237,779 units delivered – exceeding its previous record of 225,121 by approximately six per cent.
SUV sales accounted for 166,509 of these deliveries, while the 718 Boxster/Cayman, 911 and Panamera managed 71,475 combined.
Driving Porsche’s growth was the Macan, which sold over 95,000 units globally, while the 718 Boxster rose by nine per cent to 12,848 deliveries.
In terms of markets, Porsche grew across the globe, the largest increases coming in China and the Americas – which saw 12 per cent and six per cent growth in sales respectively.
China continues as the German marque’s strongest individual market, totalling 65,246 deliveries in 2016, while the Asia-Pacific, Africa and Middle East combined accounted for 93,212 sales.
In Australia, Porsche sales were up by 4.4 per cent year-to-date at the end of February, though for the month the company was down by 8.6 per cent.
Meanwhile, the premium sports car segments ($80,000+ and $200,000+) are already up 35 per cent and 15.2 per cent respectively as of the end of February.
Interestingly, the upper medium and large SUV segments which the Macan and Cayenne compete in, are down 0.1 per cent and 15.2 per cent respectively at the end of last month, while the Macan and Cayenne themselves are down 9.4 per cent and up 23.8 per cent year-to-date as of the start of this month.
For more in-depth sales analysis of the Australian new car market, read our VFACTS coverage here.
MORE: Everything Porsche