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From Bloomberg Interview of Herbert Diess, VW CEO:
Wait times for the Porsche 911 are 12 months, 18 months, if I can even get an allocation. I’m looking around at the Ducati shops, they’re all completely sold out. When are we going to get back to normal?
We are ramping up the second half of the year, so delivery times should shorten, and then as we are a little bit cautious about the outlook next year, we can significantly reduce the waiting times, but we are also not really doubling up capacities, because the world will remain unstable. That’s our assumption, so we have to be a bit cautious.
Everything is more expensive now. There is no greener gas when it comes to the other performance marques.
Porsche never made a 911 for the “everyman”. New 911s have always been about exclusivity. Used examples were as close as you could get to an affordable one. The only thing that has changed is that so many people now want one, having the cash to do so and the YOLO from the pandemic.
Lotus? Enthusiast awesome, but never in the same tier in Porsche. Anyone who thinks otherwise hasn’t really spent time with one. I am totally bemused that Lotus is entering the “luxury” space now. Fantastic fun. However, it will never cross your mind that it is some kind of fantastic piece of kit.
McLaren? McLaren makes cars where 2 year old examples already have 5 or more owners. The steering is lovely and power delivery is glorious, but McLaren makes a car that you can park in the garage one Sunday and by next weekend, it doesn’t run. Yes, I am sure that someone can chime in that their McLaren is great. They’re spectacular cars until they aren’t.
Lamborghini? Uh, you’re not avoiding anything that you aren’t experiencing with Porsche. ADM, waitlists, and limited availability. The brand is popular with the crypto kiddies and rappers for the same reason — they don’t vet or choose their customers like Ferrari.
Ferrari? Do you know why you constantly come across very low mileage Portofino, Romas, and GTC4Lusso’s? Ferrari may not permit ADM, but they’ve institutionalized pay for access. You have to buy your way in by picking up those lower tier cars to get access to the higher tiers. You need to establish a history with the brand and once you’re in, it’s great, especially if you have some older cars in the mix as well. That being said, more often than not, that very same dealer gets right of first refusal when it comes to sell that car. So, they can sell it to someone else that wants in the club.
None of the above produce a car as comfortable, usable, and reliable as the 911. There is no greener grass. Porsche is where it’s at and a relative bargain compared to the alternatives, even with ADM, etc.
Hopefully they are able to ramp up, and the Russia situation doesn't lead to energy rationing in Germany. By the end of next year supply should improve as some 718 production os moving out of Zuffenhausen to make room for increased 992 production.
I wouldn't expect wait times to ever be like they used to be. I'm sure they will eventually get a bit better, but Porsche likes the hype, the scarcity and no discounting. They can also raise prices more, and people will still wait in line to pay MSRP+.
And every car is sold before it is even built, any company would love that situation. Porsche will find a sweet spot between price and availability, and they will be more profitable than ever
I wouldn't expect wait times to ever be like they used to be. I'm sure they will eventually get a bit better, but Porsche likes the hype, the scarcity and no discounting. They can also raise prices more, and people will still wait in line to pay MSRP+.
And every car is sold before it is even built, any company would love that situation. Porsche will find a sweet spot between price and availability, and they will be more profitable than ever
Maybe, but most folks who can afford a porsche can start looking around. I am not a fan or McLaren for example, but there is a 90% chance my next car would be one just because of the uncertainty and life is so ****ing short to wait. Then there is the push to go to electric happening, Cayman/Boxster already but the dust, so guess what? People will start looking elsewhere.
I honestly doubt Porsche is that shortsighted.
Maybe, but most folks who can afford a porsche can start looking around. I am not a fan or McLaren for example, but there is a 90% chance my next car would be one just because of the uncertainty and life is so ****ing short to wait. Then there is the push to go to electric happening, Cayman/Boxster already but the dust, so guess what? People will start looking elsewhere.
I honestly doubt Porsche is that shortsighted.
But that assumes that the shortage/ADM/wait situation is any better "elsewhere" that one would want to look and I am not sure that is the case.
Porsche likes the hype, the scarcity and no discounting.
I iam sure there is a segment of recent Porsche owners - ones who have their car and are not looking for another or to replace in the next few years - who don't hate it either.
I’m really curious what the production numbers for 2022 will look like. Demand for Porsche products as a whole has been growing quite steadily for the last 20 years.
Porsche likes the hype, the scarcity and no discounting. They can also raise prices more, and people will still wait in line to pay MSRP+.
And every car is sold before it is even built, any company would love that situation. Porsche will find a sweet spot between price and availability, and they will be more profitable than ever
Porsche is not trying to become Ferrari with hype and intentional scarcity...they can not do that and consistently move 300k+ vehicles annually. The current situation at Porsche and many other automakers was not intentional, rather a result of various production slowdown and tons of money flowing through the economy. There are shortages of all kinds of cars out there at the moment, not unique to Porsche....the industry has changed as you say and all automakers will try to prevent overproduction and filling lots with tons of vehicles.
Porsche aside, "normal" is never coming back. The automakers know they can produce less cars, raise prices, keep lots empty, keep dealers awash in ADM - with no downside. While they use the time to transition their production base to EVs. They are also pricing the middle/working class out of ever being able to afford a new car, in their lifetimes, keeping them permanently in the used market. The only way to break the cycle is a massive recession that drops auto sales, let's say 50%. Or to allow China to get into auto production in a big way, and flood the market with cheap cars.
This doesn't look so much like a supply issue as a demand one. Porsche may be hesitant to increase production, or even unable to, given current world conditions but they are clearly keeping up with past years (at least as far as the US market is concerned.)
07-07-2022, 11:34 AM
VW CEO on 911 Wait Times
