Porsche and Aston Martin revealed contrasting performances in the first quarter of 2024. The outlook for the second quarter remains stable for both manufacturers, who are keeping their forecasts unchanged for the full year 2024 despite continuing market challenges.
Luxury car brands Porsche and Aston Martin recently published their results for the first quarter of 2024.
At the end of March, the German automaker reported a drop in operating profit. This decline is attributed to sustained investment in new product launches. According to CEO Oliver Blume, this makes it “the biggest product launch year in the history” of the brand.
In the first three months of 2024, sales fell sharply by 11% year-on-year to €9 billion, below the consensus forecast of €9.3 billion. Operating profit also fell by 30%, to 1.28 billion euros, below expectations of 1.38 billion euros.
German carmakers are finding it difficult to stimulate demand in China. Deliveries fell at competitors such as BMW and Mercedes. Porsche’s sales in the US fell by 23% year-on-year and deliveries plunged by 43% in the three months, largely due to the automaker’s range renewal.
Porsche’s CFO, Lutz Meschke, said that despite persistent demand challenges in China, the company would maintain margins by avoiding the price war raging in the local market.
Aston Martin still holding back
On the other side of the Channel, Aston Martin also published its quarterly results, revealing a larger-than-expected pre-tax loss.
In addition to larger-than-expected cash outflows, the luxury brand halted production of older models in anticipation of increased production of new models. These factors contributed to an adjusted loss of 129 million euros for the first quarter, compared with 66 million euros a year earlier.
“Our first-quarter results reflect this expected period of transition,” said Chairman Lawrence Stroll.
The British company, under the leadership of Lawrence Stroll, has launched several new models over the past year, but is facing operational challenges as it realigns its model range. Delays in the production of new vehicles, including electric models pushed back to 2026, have also impacted financial performance.
Renewal of both brands
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