Porsche Holding Salzburg has felt the consequences of the car market slump in 2024. Regardless of the current crisis mood in the car industry, the largest European car trading company says it is in a stable position for 2025. And makes promises to customers of new and used cars.
New car sales fell 7.5 percent from the previous strong year, but remained in line with the five-year average at 691,758 vehicles. When it comes to used cars, the globally active company from Salzburg recorded an increase of 4.2 percent to 221,401 cars. Dealer locations fell to 498 (minus 29). The number of employees increased to 37,361 (plus 4 percent) in the 29 countries in which the holding company is active.
Customers can look forward to discounts
Despite the generally poor economy, car sales rose in the second half of this year and business will continue “horizontally” in 2025, holding boss Hans Peter Schützinger said at the annual press conference on Wednesday. Overall, there will be more discounts for buyers in the domestic new car market, and after the supply chain problem is resolved, the offers will become more attractive again.
“Everything is clear” given the cutback program at VW
Schützinger was cautious but optimistic about the extensive savings program announced at Volkswagen. There will be no reduction in staff or dealer network at Porsche Holding Salzburg. “From today’s perspective, I can make everything clear,” the holding boss said. Manufacturers’ savings programs are essentially an industry issue, not a dealer issue.
In Austria the number of employees is stable. The bottom line is that the increase in the number of jobs is mainly due to acquisitions. The global dealer network grew significantly in July when the VW Group took over management responsibility for Italy and Sweden. Austria is now the second largest market, after Italy, for Porsche Holding Salzburg. The entire holding company will benefit from the experiences that will be gained in Sweden, the number one country for electric cars, says Schützinger. In China, volume activities are still going very well, but the economic slowdown is noticeable. “We’re going sideways here,” Schützinger explains.
Cheap used copies with visual defects
Globally, the holding company has mainly invested in the premium and luxury classes this year and nothing will change in 2025. “We have to look at the cash flow,” the holding boss emphasized. The less wealthy customers were also not forgotten. A new sales channel has been introduced for cars up to ten years old with minor visual damage. For the used car sector, approximately 7,000 vehicles have been sold to date.
Increase in daily registrations expected
Schützinger expects a market share of 39 percent in the home market in Austria this year, although he expects competitors to shift their market shares slightly shortly before the end of the year to achieve their annual targets with daily registrations. Porsche Holding will not participate in this. The future of the car is electric, even though pure electric cars have sold more slowly recently. The demand for hybrid drives was even stronger. “The Austrians love the hybrid,” says Schützinger.
He used the annual press conference to promote the VW Group’s iD.3. Minus the e-car bonus of 5,000 euros, the entry-level model costs 21,000 euros (excluding VAT), making it the same price as the best-selling car in Austria, the VW Golf. This year, more than 20 new models of all drive types from the VW Group were presented, which are now fully available.
New car market not at pre-Corona level
Across all brands, the domestic car market increased by 5.2 percent in new registrations from January to November to 232,100 new registrations. However, the market for purely electric vehicles is lagging behind the previous year: 40,359 new registrations represent a decline of 7.4 percent. “A closer look at the figures shows that the car market continues to weaken due to the general economic situation and around 50,000 vehicles are sold for the fifth time in a row. Vehicles that we also miss in service,” says Schützinger.
Porsche Holding Salzburg will present its annual balance sheet for 2024 in March 2025. In 2023 it achieved a turnover record of 29.4 billion euros. At 747,700 vehicles, there was a 13.9 percent increase in new car sales compared to 2022, and 212,400 units (up 12 percent) of used cars were sold.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
