Porsche on Monday reported a 52 percent increase in its sales at 154 units in the January-March quarter this year as compared with the same period last year. The luxury sports car recorded this rise in sales when the pandemic has affected every industry/sector with the automobile being the most severely hit in 2020.
Early indications of a revitalised luxury market are seen with the company realising its best quarterly results in India in the last seven years, Porsche said in a statement. This achievement makes Porsche one of the fastest growing luxury car brands in India this year, it added.
"Despite the ever changing pandemic-related measures, we have managed to outperform our quarterly sales results of the past seven years and secured the highest first quarter order intake in five years. This drives our motivation for the coming months," Porsche India Brand Head Manolito Vujicic said.
The key to this performance has been a number of launches, including four variants of the new Panamera luxury performance saloon that resulted in an average of one new delivery every week to the end of March, the company said. Porsche India also recorded the highest number of Macan SUVs sold in a quarter since 2015, it added.
The result was a 38 percent increase in the delivery of SUVs in January-March quarter as compared with same period last year along with continuing demand for Porsche''s range of two-door sports cars that rose by 26 percent for the 911, 718 Boxster and Cayman over the first three months of 2020, the company said.
Porsche said its presence in the market has been enhanced with the recent opening of two new facilities in Delhi and Mumbai. "As part of a clear network expansion strategy, Porsche India plans to open five new facilities in major cities in the next twelve months, underlying the brand''s firm commitment to the Indian market," it added.
Besides, Porsche India is also preparing for the expansion of its model offering, including the launch of the fully-electric Taycan in India, it added. The firm is also working on new attractive offers like the appreciation referral programme, a platform for existing customers to invite friends and relatives to join the Porsche family to avail exclusive benefits.
Luxury car market
The Indian luxury car market studied was valued at more than $1 billion in 2020, and it is expected to reach a value of over $2 billion by 2026 while registering a CAGR of more than 6 percent during the forecast period, according to Mordor Intelligence.
With the spread of coronavirus, the sales of luxury cars were affected due to lower footfalls in the showrooms. Various automobile manufacturers were forced to temporarily shut their production as the supply chain was disrupted by the country-wide lockdown imposed by the government, which restrained the growth of the market, the report said.
India is a huge market for vehicles and possesses a very high potential for luxury cars. Whereas the luxury car market penetration level in the country is low but leading luxury car manufacturers are betting on the market’s potential.
As luxury car manufacturers are launching multiple models with various price ranges, along with user-friendly financing schemes, the demand for luxury cars is expected to rise in the country. Moreover, the demand for luxury SUVs has been growing rapidly in the country and is expected to continue during the forecast period, as they offer extra space and comfort. Major luxury car manufacturers, like Audi, BMW, and Mercedes are planning to launch new luxury models in the country at a competitive price, the report said.
