Porsche closed stores in several mainland cities

German luxury vehicle giant Porsche shut down stores in several mainland cities such as Yiwu in Zhengjiang Province, mainland media reported, as overseas carmakers keep suffering in the fierce electrification fight.

Porsche also closed stores in Tangshan of Hebei Province and Zhengzhou of Hebei Province,  according to the report.

Moreover, the New-Year offers for new car owners and the test-drive appointments have been cancelled one after another, according to the report.

In December 2024, Porsche China president and chief executive Alexander Pollich revealed that the carmaker planned to cut the number of Prosche Centers to 100 by 2026, from about 150 stores under operation in the country.

In October, Porsche is seeking billions of euros in cost cuts by 2030, Chief Financial Officer Lutz Meschke said after presenting a 41 percent drop in third-quarter operating profit.

"China is an incredible challenge, not just for Porsche," Meschke said. "In the future, we can no longer assume that China will return to where it was for European players."

Meschke said Porsche's cost structure will be adjusted to reflect global annual vehicle sales of around 250,000, down from the more than 300,000 it sold in recent years.

Porsche, majority-owned by Volkswagen said weaker demand in China and a slower-than-anticipated shift to electric vehicles forced it to review its product lineup, budgets and costs.

(Themis Qi and Reuters)