Porsche dealers told tight supply will linger

Porsche dealers came to the brand’s make meeting at the NADA Show with one thing on their minds — product supply, or the lack thereof.

Most questions from retailers centered around the sports car maker’s sales and production outlook, Mike Sullivan, Porsche Board of Regents chairman, told Automotive News.

The dealers’ message to the factory was: We need more cars.

For a niche purveyor of six-figure, high-performance metal, tight vehicle supply is typically a feature, not a bug. Scarcity creates desirability and lifts profitability.

Porsche is the master of the “one-short model,” said Sullivan, referring to the brand’s desire to build one car fewer than the market demands.

But in the era of microchip shortages and COVID-19-related production disruptions, it’s more like “10 short,” said Sullivan, managing partner of the LAcarGuy group and dealer principal of Porsche South Bay in Hawthorne, Calif.

At the meeting, Porsche Cars North America COO Joe Lawrence said to expect supplies to remain tight as global parts scarcity lingers, dealers said.

“Porsche has the power of the Volkswagen Group behind it, so we are well represented,” Sullivan said. “It’s that bigger picture that creates more uncertainty — chips and other shortages are the hard ones to work around.”

Sullivan expects Porsche’s U.S. sales to net out “in the low 70,000 units” in 2023, in line with last year, when the automaker delivered a record 70,065 vehicles.

“That should be doable and profitable for PCNA and the dealers,” he said.

Porsche told dealers it will prioritize meeting demand for performance variants, such as the GT and GTS, across the lineup.

“911s were short all year,” Sullivan said.

After bolting out of the gate three years ago, the Taycan saw its sales kneecapped last year because of supply issues. U.S. deliveries of the electric fastback tumbled 23 percent to 7,271 in 2022.

“We should’ve had more supply,” Sullivan said of the Taycan. “We should be able to improve that number next year.”

Porsche is bracing for a busy few years as it electrifies its lineup and expands it with a three-row flagship crossover.

This year, Porsche expects to unveil an all-electric version of its bestselling Macan compact crossover. Battery-powered versions of the Cayenne midsize crossover and 718 Boxster and 718 Cayman sports cars will follow.

“In the middle of our lineup, we will have exciting new variants and electrified models,” Sullivan said. “As we shore up the middle, we can move that volume component.”