AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)07/21 Report--

Alexander Pollich will formally take over Michael Kirsch as Porsche Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macau CEO,Michael Kirsch will return to Germany on September 1, which will be announced later.

Officials say Alexander Pollich has worked at Porsche for more than 23 years and has held a number of management positions. Alexander Pollich has been chairman of Porsche's board since July 2018, and Alexander Pollich, a sales expert with international experience, will be in charge of important Chinese sales markets. It is understood that after Alexander Pollich becomes president and CEO of Porsche in China, in addition to ensuring Porsche's current operating business, it will also implement a value-oriented and brand-appropriate growth strategy in the Chinese market. In addition, emphasis will be placed on deeper cooperation with local distributors and further optimization of internal processes and structures.

In the press release, Porsche thanked Michael Kirsch for its outstanding contribution to Porsche's China business over the past two years. According to the data, Michael Kirsch has many years of experience in managing the Chinese market, serving as the chief operating officer of Porsche in China from 2012 to 2016, responsible for sales, dealer development and direct business. Michael Kirsch has been president and CEO of Porsche Japan since 2019, having been responsible for Porsche's Korean market for the previous three years. In June 2022, Porsche announced that Michael Kirsch would succeed Jens Puttfarcken as president and CEO of Porsche in China, with overall responsibility for the China business.

It is worth mentioning that according to the European media Bild, Porsche changed most of its managers in China and Hong Kong and Macao from Michael Kirsch to Alexander Pollich, which is the result of Porsche's dissatisfaction with the sales performance of the Chinese market.

On July 9, Porsche released the latest sales figures, showing that Porsche sold 155945 vehicles worldwide in the first half of 2024, down 7% from the same period last year. Among them, the total delivery volume in China was 29551, down 33% from the same period last year. It is the only market with a decline of more than double digits, while losing the largest single market position in the world.

It is understood that Porsche has entered the Chinese market since 2001, and its high-end brand positioning is not only a means of transportation for Chinese car owners, but also a symbol of status and status. As a luxury brand, Porsche's core advantage lies in its excellent performance and excellent driving experience, whether it is 911, Cayenne or Palamera, can feel the extreme speed and passion. In 2015, China overtook the United States for the first time to become the world's largest single market for Porsche, setting a new record for 20 years in a row. Porsche set an all-time high in China in 202, delivering 95671 new cars in the whole year. In 2022, Porsche sold 309884 vehicles worldwide, an increase of 2.6 per cent year-on-year. Total delivery in China was 93286, making it the only market in the world to decline, down 2.5 per cent from a year earlier. This is the first decline since Porsche entered the Chinese market. Porsche sales in China fell again in 2023, expanding to 15 per cent year-on-year compared with 2022.

In May this year, it was reported that some Porsche dealers in China launched a protest and boycott, preparing to "force the palace" to the German headquarters. the trigger was that Porsche China chose to put pressure on the dealers in order to complete the sales task. however, the warehouse pressure on dealers has a huge financial pressure, resulting in conflicts between Porsche and dealers intensified, some Porsche dealers have stopped picking up cars Porsche headquarters is required to provide subsidies while replacing relevant executives.

Subsequently, Porsche China issued a joint statement entitled "take away the clouds, gain insight and stick to the forward" with all authorized dealers. Porsche China said that the current automotive industry is undergoing unprecedented changes, Porsche China and dealers are facing a number of complex problems, opportunities and challenges. Porsche China and all authorized dealers have always maintained a normal dialogue mechanism of long-term and mutual trust. During the transformation and transformation of the industry, automobile manufacturers should always actively listen to the voices of dealers from the front line. Only by cooperating more closely and supporting each other, can manufacturers and dealers better meet the needs of Chinese consumers according to local conditions and achieve sustainable and win-win development. Porsche China said that through full discussion, Porsche China and all authorized dealers will work together to find effective ways to actively respond to market changes and identify new opportunities in the face of challenges. These discussions cover many aspects, including but not limited to many key areas such as business policy, local customer insight, customer service and electrification transformation.

The core driving force of the growth of the import market is still the consumption upgrading of passenger cars, but the electric transformation has changed the demand for fuel vehicles, and the demand for imported fuel vehicles has also declined significantly. As a positioning ultra-luxury brand, Porsche has to begin to examine its position in the Chinese market in the face of more and more new car-building forces, rapidly laying out the field of high-end electric vehicles and seizing the market share of traditional luxury brands. Next, the next trump card in luxury car competition will be new energy vehicles, especially those who attach importance to the electric car market will take the initiative.

Porsche is like an elephant turning around in the electrified transformation, but this is not the development dilemma faced by global brands, in the wave of electrified and intelligent transformation process, this reality and dilemma have also caused the current situation that the transformation of traditional luxury car companies always seems to be slow. Although Porsche firmly pursued the electrification strategy, it also had to slow down because of financial and technical problems.

According to Porsche's planned goal, new energy models will account for half of total sales in 2025, and the proportion of pure electric models will reach more than 80% by 2030. However, as Chinese new energy car brands begin to attack the luxury market, Porsche's market share in China is beginning to decline year by year, leaving it with very tight time. To maintain market stability in the Chinese market, Porsche must lay down its posture and focus more on understanding the real needs of high-end users and showing stronger product power.

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