Porsche 2008 Annual Report Download - page 102

100
To our shareholders Financials
The Company
Markets
Around the globe, the entire automotive industry suffered the full impact
of the financial and economic crisis in Porsche’s fiscal year 2008/09.
Many regions saw dramatic falls in the volume of new vehicles sold.
Severe slumps were above all seen in North America and Eastern Europe.
Western Europe also saw losses, although state intervention benefited
manufacturers of small cars in particular. Only the Chinese and Brazilian
markets remained stable.
Given these conditions, Porsche was unable to repeat its strong per-
formance of recent years. The automobile manufacturer based in
Stuttgart delivered a total of 73,492 vehicles to customers, 26 per-
cent fewer than in the prior fiscal year. The only market that continued
to grow was China, and the Middle East only just fell short of the pre-
vious year’s figures. These two markets now account for 19 percent
of all deliveries (prior year: 14 percent).
The new Carrera models were well received in all markets. With
24,963 units delivered, the 911 series made up more than a third of
new vehicle deliveries. The Boxster and Cayman held steady with
a total of 13,720 vehicles in a rapidly shrinking segment. Almost half
of the vehicles delivered were of the new generation of the mid-engined
sports car, introduced by Porsche in February 2009. The Cayenne
remained the highest-volume seller at 34,799 vehicles. The sporty
off-roader benefited both from its popularity in the growth regions of
China and the Middle East and from the market launch of the Cayenne
Diesel. This already clocked up 4,654 deliveries in the second half
of the fiscal year.