In a press release, Porsche made the following announcement:
"Deliveries to customers in North America in the 2008 calendar year by Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, amounted to a total of 27,717 units. Out of this overall figure, the USA accounted for 26,035 cars, Canada for 1,682. Compared with the previous year with record sales of 36,680 units, this represents a decrease by 24 per cent in terms of volume.
Particularly the 911 and Boxster sports cars were affected by this drop in sales, with customer deliveries decreasing in each case by about one-third. Apart from the US economic crisis, the changeover to new models in both model series was responsible for the decrease in sales. While the new generation of the 911 has been introduced into the market in the meantime, the new Boxster and Cayman mid-engine models are still awaiting introduction in March 2009.
By contrast, the Cayenne model series, down by 11 per cent, remained remarkably strong in the difficult market environment.
The first signs of stabilisation in sales in December 2008 provide good news from the perspective of the Stuttgart-based sports car manufacturer: Sales in the last month of 2008 in North America amounted to 2,249 units, with 2,154 units in the USA and 95 cars in Canada. While this still represents a decrease by 25 per cent compared with the same month a year before, these figures offer reason for hope compared with the far weaker figures in previous months.
Porsche’s best seller in December 2008 was the Cayenne accounting for 917 units sold, representing a decrease by 30 per cent. Customer deliveries of the 911 model series accounted for 645 units, down by 26 per cent. The number of mid-engine Boxster and Caymen sports cars delivered to customers was down by 16 per cent to 687 units, the Cayman and Cayman S accounting for a total of 328 units sold."