German sportscar maker Porsche saw big Q1 sales drops in China and US

An employee attaches the brand logo to a Porsche at the Leipzig plant. Porsche saw worldwide sales dip slightly during the first quarter of the year, the company reported on 10 April. From January to March, Porsche delivered 77,640 vehicles, a decline of 4 percent compared to the same quarter last year. Jan Woitas/dpa

German luxury sportscar manufacturer Porsche saw worldwide sales dip slightly during the first quarter of the year, the company reported on Wednesday.

From January to March, Porsche delivered 77,640 vehicles, a decline of 4% compared to the same quarter last year.

The drop is due to declines in China, Porsche's most important market, as well as in North America. Almost a quarter fewer vehicles were exported to each of these markets, the company said.

Porsche cited several reasons for the 24% drop in deliveries to China, led by the tense economic situation in the Chinese market. The company also said that sales in the same quarter last year had been particularly strong as it caught up on a backlog from the coronavirus pandemic.

The car manufacturer explains the 23% drop in sales to North America primarily as a result of customs-related delays in the delivery of some models.

In Germany, the number of vehicles delivered grew by 37%. In the rest of the European Union, sales rose by less than 10%.

Growth in overseas markets - which include Africa, Latin America, Australia, Japan and Korea - amounted to around 14%, the company said.