Porsche China issued a letter from Porsche China to car owners on the 30th, apologizing to the car owners and saying that a special working group had been established to find a solution as soon as possible.
However, in the face of the official thousand word response, netizens did not buy it, saying that "saying is equal to not saying", and others joked that "fortunately, I can't afford to buy a Porsche, otherwise it would be more annoying"... What's going on?
a large number of car owners rushed into the live broadcasting room to protect their rights
why did Porsche commit public anger
On April 27, the new Porsche's first pure electric crossover utility vehicle (CUV), taycan cross Turismo, was broadcast live in China. However, in the live broadcast room, more attention was paid to it than new cars. A large number of rights protection car owners poured in.
because the comment function was not turned on in the live broadcast, these car owners changed their names to "Porsche suspected of sales fraud" and "Porsche returned my electric steering column" and passed on the screen by brushing gifts
It is understood that the matter originated from a number of car owners complaining that their ordered Porsche was officially reduced for no reason.
When buying the car, Porsche promised to temporarily reduce the vehicle to manual steering column due to insufficient chip supply, and then upgrade it to electric steering column for free. However, after the consumer picked up the car, Porsche did not honor the original free upgrade scheme, but only provided 2300 yuan of vouchers as compensation. The cost of installing electronic steering in 4S stores is as high as 30000 yuan.
This is unacceptable to consumers. "I can't believe such a big luxury car brand dares to play rogue openly!" Said one Panamera owner.
In addition, according to China Newsweek, on the black cat complaint platform, Porsche has a total of 135 complaints, of which 97 have appeared in the last 30 days. The number of car owners who have initiated collective complaints against Porsche has reached 86.
According to several Porsche owners, there are hundreds of people in their rights protection group. When communicating with 12315 staff, some Porsche salespeople put forward more than 20000 new cars involving the above problems, including Cayenne, taycan, palamera and a small number of Macan In addition to the Macan's price of 5.6 million yuan, the price of other models is more than one million yuan.
It is worth mentioning that Porsche's original commitment to upgrade the electric steering column for free afterwards was to sign official documents with some customers. The letter stated that Porsche promised to step up the procurement of the required parts together with the supplier. Once the installation of the electric steering column is completed, the owner can be notified immediately.
However, the notification letter of canceling the free replenishment service came unexpectedly. In this notification letter, we guarantee
Shijie said that due to the shortage of parts and the unknown time to solve the problem, the vehicle can only be equipped with a manually adjusted steering column. Porsche will provide a goodwill voucher of 2300 yuan for this matter.
This makes many car owners very angry. In addition, the owner disclosed that after confirming with the personnel in the 4S store, the use scope of the 2300 yuan voucher compensated is only after-sales the owner said that it would cost about 30000 yuan to restore the configuration of the electric steering wheel, and the 2300 yuan voucher can only be used for consumption deduction such as after-sales maintenance. "This is a plan to send out beggars. It's also 'friendly'. Who's disgusting?"
In addition, to the dissatisfaction of Chinese car owners, Porsche made it clear on the external website that it would temporarily provide manual steering column due to the lack of chip, but did not mention it on the Chinese official website, which was suspected of deliberately concealing the car owner.
In the black cat complaint, a car owner mentioned that he ordered a Cayenne at the Porsche 4S store in Cixi in September 2021. In March 2022, he learned on the Internet that due to the global chip shortage, the electric steering column (i.e. electrically adjustable steering wheel) of the vehicle was changed to manual steering wheel. After confirming with the 400 hotline, he asked the 4S store. After repeated urging, he was told that the manufacturer cancelled the part and replaced it with a 2300 yuan voucher. He refused and asked the 4S store to continue to feed back to Porsche.
Porsche apologizes urgently! Netizens are even more angry
In this regard, on April 30, the Porsche News Center released a letter from Porsche China to the car owner, apologizing to the car owner for the reduction of the electric steering column.
Porsche China said that the global semiconductor production capacity shortage is still very serious. The continuation of covid-19 epidemic, especially the wide spread of Omicron virus, makes the situation worse. After many efforts and coordination, Porsche headquarters is still unable to estimate the arrival time of chips related to electric adjustment function. This means that the previous recovery and replacement plan will put customers in continuous uncertainty and indefinite waiting
Therefore, at the end of the first quarter of this year, Porsche headquarters was forced to decide to cancel the recovery and replacement plan of the steering column with electric adjustment function. Porsche China immediately authorized Porsche centers across the country to actively inform and communicate with relevant customers.
Porsche said that it fully understood the disappointment of the affected customers about the adjustment and their willingness to express their opinions. To this end, a task force has been quickly established, led by Porsche headquarters and Porsche China, to jointly study all possibilities with relevant suppliers, hoping to find a solution as soon as possible
In addition, Porsche said that since March this year, the sudden recurrence of the epidemic in China and relevant prevention and control measures, as well as the overseas epidemic that has continued so far, have increased the difficulty of communication and collaborative work. I hope to get the customer's understanding and give more time to try to find a solution.
However, in response to this, netizens did not seem to buy it. They said that "saying is equal to not saying". Some thought that Porsche's foreign standards were different, "1200 dollars returned abroad and 2300 vouchers in China were really drunk"; Others joked that "fortunately, I can't afford to buy a Porsche, otherwise it would be more annoying"
Porsche the world's largest single market in China
According to the official data of Porsche, Porsche delivered 301915 vehicles worldwide in 2021, including 95671 vehicles in China in 2021, with a year-on-year increase of 8%, becoming the largest single market of Porsche brand in the world for seven consecutive years.
In terms of specific models, SUV models continued to be the best-selling models in the Chinese market. The delivery of new luxury cars Panamera increased by 26% year-on-year. At the same time, the sales volume in the Chinese market accounted for more than half of the total sales volume of Panamera in the world. The influence of the two door sports car in young consumer groups is also increasing. The legendary sports car 911 increased by 67% year-on-year, achieving double-digit growth for two consecutive years. The mid engine sports car 718 continues its leading position in the market segment with 74% market share. In addition, Porsche's first pure electric sports car, taycan, has launched four derivative models in China and set a delivery record of 7315 in 2021.
By the end of 2021, Porsche had 140 sales outlets in China. In terms of financial business and easy-to-use car business, Porsche signed more than 47000 financial service contracts in 2021, with a year-on-year increase of 16%, and the market penetration of financial services exceeded 50%, an increase of 3 percentage points over 2020; The trading volume of Porsche approved change-of-hand vehicles reached 7501, with a year-on-year increase of 54%, equivalent to six times that in 2016. Among them, 2314 easy-to-use cars are online orders, accounting for more than 30% of the total retail sales.
According to the latest data, 2022 in the first quarter, Porsche delivered 68426 vehicles worldwide, of which 17685 were delivered in the Chinese market. Although it decreased by 20% year-on-year, it still ranked the first single market in the world
at the beginning of this year, Hurun Baifu released "2022 Hurun to superior products - brand tendency report of China's high net worth people", which pointed out that the consumption scale of China's high-end market increased by 2% to 1.73 trillion yuan, and among the automobile brands most favored by high net worth people, Porsche won the first place of the most favored car and sports car brands at the same time
just announced its independent listing: the "win-win" of Porsche Piech family
Just in February this year, Volkswagen Group is planning to list its "cash cow" Porsche brand independently.
The plan was finally approved by the supervisory board of Volkswagen Group and confirmed by Arno antlitz, the financial director of Volkswagen Group on February 24 and February 25 local time respectively.
The rumor that Volkswagen Group plans to list the Porsche brand independently has been spread in the industry as early as the end of last year. However, the official affirmation from Volkswagen Group was delayed until February 22, which was confirmed by Wolfsburg through a news announcement.
According to the announcement, the plan of Porsche's independent listing has not only been "ripe at the decision-making level", but also the Volkswagen Group has reached a framework agreement with Porsche holdings on specific details.
It is worth noting that Porsche SE has no direct contact with Porsche AG, an automobile brand of the Volkswagen Group.
As a pure holding company, Porsche holdings is controlled by the Porsche Piech family and owns 53% of the voting rights of Volkswagen Group through a large shareholding. The Porsche car company, which grew up in the Porsche family, was controlled by the Volkswagen Group as early as 2012.
In addition, the German Lower Saxony state government and Qatar sovereign fund, where Wolfsburg is the headquarters of Volkswagen, are the second and third largest shareholders of Volkswagen group respectively.
Ten years ago, the operation of "extreme family change" between Porsche and Volkswagen Group made the Porsche Piech family control the Volkswagen Group, but the family also lost the ancestral business left by Ferdinand Porsche to their descendants.
According to German media reports ten years ago, Wolfgang Porsche, the patriarch of the Porsche family, delivered a final speech at the last supervisory board meeting before Porsche was swallowed by Volkswagen: "the Porsche brand is still alive and will grow stronger with Volkswagen". Then he shed old tears.
Since then, it has become the long cherished wish of the 78 year old patriarch to hold the ancestral industry in his hand again.
According to the framework agreement between Volkswagen Group and Porsche holdings, Volkswagen will release 25% of the shares of Porsche motor company, of which common shares and preferred shares account for half respectively. As the major shareholder of Volkswagen Group, Porsche Piech family has the preemptive right to purchase the shares of Porsche automobile company. The remaining three-quarters of Porsche will still be held by Volkswagen Group.
According to the estimates of German media and Frankfurt investment banking industry, the Porsche Piech family plans to eat the vast majority of common shares, while preferred shares will be open to public investors. At that time, the Porsche Piech family will regain its veto minority stake in Porsche.
In addition, an independent board of supervisors will be established for the independently listed Porsche. As the Lower Saxony state government and Qatar sovereign fund have made it clear that they will not join the board of supervisors, the vacant seat will be determined to be held by the Porsche Piech family.
Volkswagen expects a good profit
As the listing of Porsche brand means the dilution of the existing shareholders' equity of the group, Volkswagen Group has decided at the shareholders' meeting last year to pay a special dividend for the IPO of Porsche brand. The dividend amount is 49% of the total income from Porsche's IPO. The negative response of major shareholders, especially the third largest shareholder Qatar sovereign fund, has been one of the stumbling blocks to Porsche's independent listing.
In addition, the Volkswagen Group also plans to withdraw 300 million euros and distribute cash or stock awards of up to 2000 euros to all German employees after Porsche cars are successfully listed separately.
For the Porsche Piech family, the independent listing of the Porsche brand, on the one hand, is an important step for the family to regain partial control of the Porsche brand. On the other hand, the family can obtain sufficient funds at a large cost through a special dividend, even if the special dividend can cover only one third of the funds required to buy 25% of the common shares of Porsche cars.
The "win-win" of the Porsche Piech family won twice does not seem to be cost-effective for the Volkswagen Group. The only advantage is that Wolfsburg can obtain billions of euros in one go.
At present, the total market value of Volkswagen Group, including Porsche brand, is about 100 billion euros, while the separate valuation of independently listed Porsche vehicles is about 60 billion to 80 billion euros.
Earlier, Volkswagen Group announced on the "battery day" that it would build six power battery factories in Europe, for which the group plans to invest about 20 billion euros.
According to the estimates of major investment banks in Europe, Volkswagen group can recover 15 billion to 25 billion euros through the IPO of Porsche. Even excluding the special dividend, Volkswagen group can still get 7.5 billion to 12 billion euros of fresh blood.
The money should be enough to satisfy Herbert DIS, CEO of Volkswagen Group.
In fact, dis himself is the key for the Porsche Piech family to regain (partially) control of Porsche cars.
At the end of last year, when the Tesla Berlin plant began trial operation, DIS, who has always been dissatisfied with the slow transformation speed of the public, shouted the radical slogan of firing 35000 employees at the Wolfsburg plant.
A stone stirs thousands of waves.
The Lower Saxony state government, the second largest shareholder of Volkswagen Group, immediately expressed its great dissatisfaction with DIS, so that the board of supervisors specially held a special meeting on Christmas Eve to discuss whether dis should be dismissed locally.
Finally, it turned the tide and saved the embattled DIS, which is still the largest shareholder of the Porsche Piech family.
Porsche solo, another winner
Behind the solo flight of the Porsche brand, in addition to the Porsche Piech family, another winner is undoubtedly Porsche CEO Oliver Blume.
Since taking over Porsche in October 2015, the Porsche head, who received a doctorate from Tongji University, has been famous for taking an independent development path independent of the parent company Volkswagen Group.
Although Porsche has benefited a lot from the platform strategy of Volkswagen Group, the old stem of "taking apart Porsche is Audi and taking apart Audi is Volkswagen" has indeed become a discordant sound.
At least, this trend of gradual Audi and even popularization of Porsche has not continued to deepen under obom's rule. On the contrary, the Porsche brand is becoming more and more independent among the 12 brands of the Volkswagen Group. Of course, the highest tide of this maverick trend is the separate listing of Porsche, which may also be the peak of aubaum's own career.
A typical case of Porsche's independence is the pigeon of its brother brand on the road of electrification. As early as 2020, Porsche, together with Audi and Bentley brands, plans to eat the overcapacity Volkswagen Hanover commercial vehicle factory, and take this factory as the foundation to develop and produce the next generation of luxury electric vehicle platform around 2025.
This popular doll platform strategy was confirmed again on last year's "battery day" and was dubbed Prussian "iron casting blood pouring" which can not be changed.
However, obermer soon betrayed the "revolution", and Porsche moved its planned production base of electric version Macan from Hanover to its Leipzig factory in less than a year, because Porsche didn't want its production plan to be constrained by Audi and Bentley. To this end, Porsche even had to pay hundreds of millions of euros of liquidated damages to the commercial vehicle company in Hanover.
Another case of Porsche not giving face to the parent company of Volkswagen Group is the battery factory plan announced on Volkswagen's "battery day" at the beginning of last year.
At that time, Volkswagen group had set the goal that six battery factories would cover at least 80% of the demand in Europe by 2030, and all its brands would benefit from unified and cheap cell standards.
The only exception is naturally Porsche.
Just a few months after the "battery day", Porsche announced the establishment of a joint venture with cellforce, another German company, to develop and produce Porsche special batteries.
In addition to the battery supplier problem, Porsche seems to like originality even on the route of new energy vehicles. On the one hand, Herbert DIS, the head of Volkswagen Group, is indeed a great contributor to Volkswagen's electrification. On the other hand, dis has repeatedly expressed his contempt for other new energy routes, including fuel cells.
Porsche responded by spending 20 million euros in Chile last year on the research and development of e-fuel (i.e. alternative fuel) based on hydrogen energy. The reason is that high sounding sports cars still need the surging of internal combustion engines.
Similarly, cariad, a newly established software subsidiary of Volkswagen Group, is also on Porsche's blacklist. Formerly car Software. Org's cariad should have provided a unified solution for software and digitization throughout the group. However, Porsche, dissatisfied with the slow progress of cariad, has long been eyeing Americans on the other side of the ocean.
As early as last November, obermer had private talks with cook of apple. However, the statement of software cooperation between apple and Porsche has not been officially confirmed.
Although the independent listing of Porsche has become a foregone conclusion, the time node of the IPO has not been finalized. Even though the Volkswagen Group and the Porsche Piech family have expressed the view that they hope to complete all preparations by the end of this year, considering the uncertainty of the European stock market caused by the still uncertain situation in Russia and Ukraine and the expectation of interest rate hike by the European Central Bank, it may be far from the day when ordinary people can buy a share in the market instead of a Porsche.
