Buyers refused to let the pandemic stop them.
2020 was not a normal year, to say the least with some automakers - Porsche being chief among them - faring better than others
The German automaker has just released global sales figures for 2020 following last week s North American market report. Considering everything, Porsche s worldwide deliveries were solid with a total of 272,162 new vehicles - just three percent below the record set in 2019 of 280,800. The coronavirus crisis posed a great challenge from spring 2020 onwards. Nevertheless, we were able to keep deliveries comparatively stable for the year as a whole, said Detlev von Platen, Porsche s Executive Board Member for Sales and Marketing.
Mind you, it s not anywhere remotely close to the 25-hour, 39-minute record set last year.
It would be selling things short to say there s been a flurry of Cannonball Run activity over the past year or so. The record for the fastest trek across the US, from New York to Los Angeles, has changed hands so many times over the past 14 months that it s difficult to keep track, the global pandemic and numerous statewide shelter-in-place orders creating a perfect storm of reduced-traffic conditions that, as it turns out, are particularly conducive to speeding from coast to coast in record time.
What coronavirus?
It s been a challenging year for automakers and with 2020 sales numbers now in, it s clear that some have fared better than others. Typically during tough economic times, even wealthy buyers hold off on making big purchases, but it appears not even the coronavirus could stop them from flocking to Porsche dealerships across the US. Porsche has just announced the total retail deliveries of its entire lineup for 2020 and the results are extremely impressive.
The bottom line is this: Porsche US had its second-best year ever with a total of 57,294 new vehicles sold. 2020 s total is down by only 6.9 percent from 2019 with the pandemic unsurprisingly being identified as the direct cause.
They all share a common goal.
Although it was going to happen eventually, the coronavirus pandemic has played a significant role in the drive towards an electric vehicle future. General Motors recently joined Ford to back the EV goals of California and President-elect Biden. The Golden State s aim is to ban all new combustion-engined passenger and light-duty vehicle sales by 2035. Biden also sees an opportunity to create new jobs in the green energy sector.
Today, Reuters reports the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a major auto trade association whose members include GM, Ford, VW, Toyota, and a host of other brands, has launched a new effort to push US lawmakers to support EV-related initiatives. These include financial incentives for continued research and development as well as tax credits for consumers.