- Porsche is dropping dozens of dealers in China to slash its costs.
- Sales in China have collapsed more than 50 percent since 2022.
- America is holding steady while China forces Porsche into retreat.
For years, China looked like Porsche’s unstoppable growth engine. Now, it’s dragging the brand’s sales figures down. The German automaker is reportedly preparing to close around 30 percent of its dealerships in China, as sales continue to decline at an alarming pace, prompting a major rethink of its strategy in the world’s largest car market.
According to Porsche China CEO Pan Liqi, the dealer cull is all about cutting costs. By 2026, Porsche wants to be down to roughly 80 dealers nationwide, compared to around 150 at the end of 2024 and 114 by the end of 2025. That’s not gentle pruning. It’s a hard reset.
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The move follows a rough end to 2025, when several Porsche dealers reportedly halted operations altogether, China’s Yicai reports. In some cases, Porsche China was left to sort out customer deposits and missing paperwork after franchise partners walked away. That kind of mess is rarely a good sign.
Sales Have Halved
A look at the sales numbers explains why this is all happening. Porsche delivered just 41,938 cars in China in 2025, down 26 percent year over year. Even worse, sales have been falling since 2022, when Porsche sold nearly 96,000 cars in the country. In just three years, its China volume has dropped by more than half.
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Globally, Porsche is hurting too. Worldwide deliveries fell 10 percent in 2025 to 279,449 cars. Every region declined except North America, where sales were essentially flat. In that context, China stands out as the biggest headache by far.
Chinese Brands Turn Up the Heat
Electric cars have been a particular problem. The Taycan has been hammered by fast moving local rivals like Xiaomi, with Taycan sales falling another 22 percent in 2025 after a brutal drop the year before. Porsche is now leaning back toward combustion and hybrids, at least in the short term.
Pan says the savings from dealer closures will be redirected into research and development, including Porsche’s new integrated R&D center in Shanghai.
The company is also planning to add two new ICE and plug in hybrid crossovers later this year, but according to Car News China, Porsche will prioritize “quality over quantity without judging success solely by sales volume” in 2026 in the country, suggesting it’s bracing itself for another grim year.
