Porsche sales in China unfazed by luxury goods crackdown

July 30, 2016

By GlobalPost WriterRajeshni Naidu-Ghelani, CNBC

A photographer takes photos of a model next to a Porsche on media day at the Shanghai auto show on April 20, 2013.
Peter Parks

German luxury carmaker Porsche saw record sales in China last year and the recent clampdown on gift-giving and luxury goods in the country won't have a major impact going forward, according to the company's sole distributor for China.

"They've instigated a few tax rises over the years and that really hasn't changed the sales dynamics too dramatically, because people get used to taxation levels at some point in time," Hans Helmuth Hennig, group managing director of Porsche distributor Jebsen told CNBC Asia's "The Call" on Monday.

He added that while there was talk of an additional luxury tax coming for high-end cars, it would have a short-term impact on sales.

"I don't see that there is a massive turnaround all of a sudden, that people will walk away from that," Hennig said. "There's too much wealth being generated in China at this point in time for people not to have an interest in vehicles. Vehicles are a fun part of life and many people aspire to aspirational brands."

China, Hong Kong and Macau were Porsche's fastest growing region in 2012 – seeing an over 28 percent growth in sales from the previous year, driven by the performance of the Panamera and Cayenne models.

Addressing a growing interest in green vehicles in China, Hennig said Porsche was set to launch its first hybrid powered Panamera in Shanghai in a couple of weeks, along with its latest full hybrid 918 Spyder sports car, which costs 600,000 to 700,000 euros ($783,000 – $913,000) before taxes.

"I think the real issue here is that even sports car manufacturers or sporty vehicle manufacturers like Porsche have to listen to the world outside, which is part regulatory and part consumer driven," Hennig added.