Porsche Deliveries Fall on Weakness in China — Update

By Dominic Chopping

Porsche car deliveries fell 6% in the first nine months of the year to 226,026 vehicles as growth in North America failed to offset a hefty decline in China.

The drop in deliveries comes as the German premium sports-car maker tackles the global transition to electric vehicles and continuing market challenges in China, while President Trump's automotive tariffs have presented a further hurdle in a stuttering global market.

Deliveries in its largest sales region of North America rose 5% on year to 64,446 vehicles, while the still challenging market conditions in China saw deliveries in the country slump 26% to 43,280 vehicles.

Automakers in China have faced an intense price war as a growing list of domestic manufacturers vie for customers, while a struggling Chinese housing market and economic-growth concerns in the country has seen buyers pull back on luxury spending.

Fellow German brands BMW and Mercedes-Benz have also both recently recorded sharp sales declines in China.

In Europe, Porsche deliveries fell 4% to 50,286 cars excluding its home market of Germany, while German deliveries dropped 16%, though Porsche noted that last year there saw disproportionately strong growth in both markets.

The company expects the market environment to remain challenging in the future, it said.

"More than ever, we're focusing on managing demand and supply in line with our 'value over volume' strategy," sales and marketing chief Matthias Becker said. "We're also responding to the ever-increasing customer demand for individualization of our vehicles by expanding further in this area."

Porsche has cut guidance several times this year, warning of hits from U.S. import tariffs, investments in new combustion engines and hybrid models amid the slow uptake of EVs and fierce competition in China.

It recently conducted a comprehensive review of its product portfolio after it scaled back its EV ambitions and vowed to expand its offering to include more models with combustion engines and plug-in hybrid powertrains than originally planned.

However, in its statement Thursday, it said it significantly increased the share of electrified vehicles it sold in the first nine months of the year. Around 35.2% of the cars it delivered in the period were electrified, with 23.1% all-electric vehicles and 12.1% plug-in hybrids.

The Macan recorded the strongest growth among the sports car manufacturer's six model series, with an increase of 18%.

Porsche recently unveiled a new model of its flagship 911 and demand is "very strong," it said.

Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com