RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL -Some of the showrooms of Brazilian Porsche dealers, which cover most of the Brazilian market for the brand, have been completely sold out recently, Folha newspaper writes in a report.
A Porsche can cost between R$500,000 and R$1.5 million, an almost unimaginable sum in Brazil, where millions of people have to get by on less than R$1,000 a month.
But Brazil is a country of extremes. On the one hand, there are tens of millions of recipients of a monthly pandemic aid of a few hundred reais as their only source of income; on the other hand, there are thousands or rather tens of thousands of young entrepreneurs who become millionaires or billionaires with their start-ups.
No wonder Porsche has a 12-month waiting list and has sold almost all of its 2020 annual volume (which in turn has overtaken 2019) by August, Marcel Visconde, president of Stuttgart told Exame newspaper.
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German cars are an international currency for success, lifestyle, and Instagram soap operas, just like Swiss watches, French wines, or Italian design. Brazilians are no exceptions in that but here you add to all of this a Condo or two in Miami. It is a must.
The German sports car maker, based in the wealthy South German city of Stuttgart, has maintained a 15% growth rate since they officially took over the business in 2015. Until then, the manufacturer was represented in the country by importers who remain in business as dealers.
This puts Porsche in the running, but it still can’t quite keep up with archrival BMW, who increased its sales by more than 30% in the first half of 2021.
According to Ulisses Gonçalves, regional sales manager, Porsche has a share of 8% in the premium segment, and if models are taken out of the equation that do not compete directly with Porsche, such a share of 21% in Brazil, writes Exame.
Visconde says that Porsche produces a limited number of cars per year, between 250 thousand and 350 thousand units, which the national market receives in competition with other countries. The shortage of semiconductors and other raw materials in the industry has also affected supply.
In the chain’s eight stores, spread across São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Recife and the southern states, demand has increased at a similar rate. According to the company, about 80% of customers buy in cash.
The company attributes this trend to the suspension of foreign travel during the pandemic, which may have boosted the consumption of goods such as boats, beach houses, and cars.