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Porsche China speeds up driving into the main circuit of electrification and digitalisation Building the core competencies of exclusive sports mobility

· China remained Porsche’s largest single global market for the seventh consecutive year in 2021, with steadily growing sales results, marking the 20th anniversary of Porsche's entry into the Chinese mainland with a record-breaking year.
· The electrification strategy has achieved remarkable results, and Porsche China’s NEV share tops among the traditional luxury car brands in 2021.
· Porsche strives for a deeper integration in the dynamic Chinese ecosystem, with focus on new trends in digitalisation, innovation and sustainability.

Shanghai. On 22 February, Porsche China released its annual performance review of the previous year: For the seventh consecutive year, China remained the world's largest single market for Porsche with 95,671 deliveries in 2021. The diversified dealer network was gradually upgraded and expanded, while sectors such as financial services, pre-owned cars and online retailing all achieved significant growth. The electrification strategy is in full swing across China, while digitalisation, innovation and sustainability became the key acting points for Porsche to build its future core competencies.

“2021 marks a fruitful anniversary year for Porsche in the Chinese mainland despite the ongoing uncertainties from COVID-19 and the semiconductor shortage. We are delighted to have made history once again and are proud of the landmark breakthroughs achieved over the past year,” said Dr.-Ing. Jens Puttfarcken, President and CEO of Porsche China. “Porsche has entered the fast lane to e-mobility, and we are fully committed to pushing forward this transformation, accelerating the localisation of the digital intelligence sector, as well as leading the new era of exclusive sports mobility with highly emotional electrified models.”

Stability in progress: multi-dimensional and high quality development in both product offerings and other business

In 2021, Porsche delivered 95,671 new vehicles in China, an increase of 8 percent year-on-year. This steady growth was driven by an evolving and optimised product lineup. Among which, the SUV models continued to be the best-sellers with the premium SUV Cayenne and the fashionable pioneer Macan on par in the model mix in China. Demand for the luxurious Panamera remained strong, with new car deliveries up 26 per cent year-on-year, making China account for more than half of the Panamera’s global sales. At the end of last year, five new Platinum Editions based on three Panamera drivetrains were launched to further meet the expectations of Chinese consumers. Particularly worth mentioning is that the two-door sports car is much favoured by young customers. The legendary sports car model 911 enjoyed booming growth of 67 per cent year-on-year, achieving high double-digit growth for the second year in a row. The mid-engine sports car 718 maintained its dominant market share – 74 per cent – of its segment in China. In addition, Porsche's first all-electric sports car, the Taycan, has continued to receive positive feedback since its launch, with four derivatives now available in the market and hit a new high of 7,315 deliveries in 2021.

Porsche's diversified dealer network continued to expand. By the end of 2021, Porsche had 140 sales sites operating in the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macao, including six newly opened last year. Porsche Centre Guangzhou Baiyun became Asia’s first newly established Porsche Centre carrying the "Destination Porsche" theme. And it is expected that 20 per cent of the existing Porsche Centres in China will be upgraded to this standard by 2022. Meanwhile, Porsche China has also deeply engaged in the financial business and the pre-owned car business to make the Porsche dream more accessible: More than 47,000 financial services contracts were signed in 2021, up 16 per cent year-on-year, with the financial penetration rate exceeding 50 per cent, an increase of 3 percentage points from 2020; at the same time, 7,501 Porsche pre-owned car transactions were completed last year, up 54 per cent year-on-year, totalling six times that of 2016. Of these, 2,314 orders were from online transactions, accounting for more than 30 per cent of the total retail volume.

Porsche is not only committed to realising customers' dreams of owning a sports car, but also achieved further expansion of its business scope in China. In January last year, Porsche Digital China Ltd. became an independent legal entity, evolving from the Porsche Digital China team. It marks an important milestone in setting up the brand's digital ecosystem in China. In the middle of last year, Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific Ltd. celebrated its inauguration, aiming to provide greater convenience to Chinese customers who want to purchase race cars and promote the development of a vibrant local motorsport culture.

Porsche has earned the trust of countless consumers for its professionalism, reliability and service quality, and has also received numerous prestigious industry accolades. In the studies by J.D. Power, a global leader in consumer insights and market research, Porsche won three brand-level championships in the "2021 China Initial Quality StudySM (IQS)", the "2021 China Vehicle Dependability StudySM (VDS)" and the "2021 China Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout StudySM (APEAL)" for the second year running. In the meantime, the Porsche Cayenne topped the VDS in the "Large Luxury SUV" segment, and the Porsche Macan ranked first in APEAL among the "Midsize Luxury SUV" segment for the fifth consecutive year.

Pinoeering in competition: accelerating the electrification process at full speed

In the face of structural changes in the global automotive industry, Porsche is on the fast lane of electrification in terms of both product offerings and ecosystem deployment. The unique positioning of the Porsche brand in the EV era – creating emotional, exclusive sports BEV to provide Chinese consumers with a wide range of e-mobility options. Currently, Porsche has introduced 16 NEV derivatives to China, and in 2021, deliveries of all-electric and plug-in electric models accounted for 18 per cent of the total sales volume, 8 percentage points higher than that of the previous year, placing it at the top of the traditional premium car brands regarding the NEV share.

The powerful performance and design of the Porsche Taycan has helped the brand successfully expand its customer base, with 72 per cent of Taycan customers being first-time Porsche owners and generally having relatively high income and educational backgrounds.

While consolidating its product offensive, Porsche is also speeding up its customer-friendly electric driving ecosystem with fast and safe super-charging technology, reliable and convenient charging networks, and considerate smart services throughout the entire driving experience. In 2021, Porsche continued the expansion of its charging network in China – which includes home charging, Porsche exclusive charging, third-party public charging and Porsche destination charging – to further meet the demands of electric vehicle users in multiple scenarios. In addition, Porsche, together with its partners, actively strengthened the service network and upgraded the organisational structure to reinforce the e-mobility strategy, including systematic personnel training both at the company and dealerships, and the establishment of the Product Management Department. Porsche China will provide even more electrification benefits with the opening of the new R&D satellite location in Shanghai in 2022.

Riding the momentum: deeply embracing China’s innovation ecosystem

With the wave of digitalisation and intelligence sweeping through the automotive industry, the Chinese market has become a frontier for many auto manufacturers. Porsche embraced the change and has strived for a deeper integration into the Chinese society, and revved up for a shared future with a focus on digitalisation, innovation and sustainability. In the area of digitalisation, Porsche has further responded to market trends and accelerated the development of digital solutions that are suitable for the Chinese market, from "in-car services", to "company and dealer process", and to "marketing and after sales approaches". Last year, Porsche WeChat Service Account continued to be optimised and now has more than 100,000 registered users; POS (Porsche One Sales) and DSS (Digital Service Solution) have been promoted across the entire network, bringing huge improvements to the digital transformation at dealerships; The online sales has expanded rapidly, and by the end of last year, the registered users of the Porsche Finder WeChat applet for pre-owned cars has reached nearly 1 million. The online business of pre-owned cars has accounted for 30 per cent of total transactions, which has effectively contributed to Porsche's strategic goal of "omni-channel development". Starting in 2022, the platform will be opened for online ordering of new cars, taking Porsche even further in e-commerce.

Innovation is an integral part of the Porsche DNA, spanning a wide range of activities from customers, products and companies to sustainability, and even beyond mobility. Additionally, Porsche pays close attention in domestic start-ups and innovation orientation, and using them as market sensors for discovering any emerging technology and mega trends. In 2021, Porsche Ventures strengthened its presence in China in the sectors of virtual influencers and 3D printing, with strategic investments in a number of venture capital companies and start-ups, such as iMaker and INTAMSYS.

As a pioneer in the field of sustainability, Porsche is committed to being CO2-neutral throughout the entire value chain by 2030, with ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) as the guiding principle and framework. At the Guangzhou Auto Show 2021, Porsche China launched a pilot project "Green Event" to track the carbon footprint of material consumption and people involved, realising "zero carbon emissions" during the event. For Porsche, corporate social responsibility is also a sustainability concern. In 2021, Porsche donated an additional RMB 2 million to flood-affected areas in Henan through the "Porsche China Dealer CSR Fund", assisting with local emergency relief and post-disaster reconstruction. To date, Porsche has donated funds on a national scale, amounting to over RMB 70 million through Porsche’s "Empowering the Future" corporate social responsibility programme, benefiting more than 520,000 people in China.

"The world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century. To make headway amid such changes and uncertainties, both heritage and innovation are extremely important. For Porsche, we are confident that we will once again be well-known for pure electric drive systems full of emotional appeal to the driver when the e-mobility era arrives in full swing," said Dr.-Ing. Jens Puttfarcken. "With our attractive product range, upgraded service concept, inspiring brand experience, and continued efforts in the key areas of electrification, digitalisation and sustainability, Porsche will continue to create a new legend of luxury sports cars."

2/22/2022

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