Porsche Dealer in China Listed a Brand New $148,000 Panamera for Just $18,000
After hundreds of deposits poured in for the fire sale priced Panamera the Chinese dealer caught the mistake.
Ask any group of car enthusiasts right now to name the most frustrating aspect of buying a new car. And they will all probably give the same answer. It is dealer markups on the most desirable models. Buying a new Porsche is expensive enough, but when tens of thousands of dollars are tacked on to the MSRP it is futile for most to even try. But what we have here is a dealer going in the opposite direction. Albeit unintentionally. Per a report from Jalopnik a dealer in China listed a brand-new Porsche Panamera for sale for just $18,000. The MSRP of the car was $148,000. That is a healthy $130,000 discount on a new Porsche. Now that is the type of ADM we would all love to see.
Apparently, shoppers in China were also very excited to see the discounted Panamera. Hundreds of deposits began to pour in for the $18,000 new Porsche. By the way. You have to go back to the 1983 Porsche 944 for the last time you could buy a new Porsche for $18,000. And if you adjust for inflation, even that car was much more expensive than what this Panamera was being offered for. But when things seem too good to be true, they often are. Naturally the dealership responded to the mistake.
Dealer Response
The dealer is located in the city of Yinchuan. And while a price of 124,000 yuan may seem expensive to those of us in the U.S. That is one-eighth of the actual price. Both the dealer and Porsche had to walk back the mistake. They started with an apology issued on the social media platform Weibo. And of course, the ad was pulled. Then Porsche had to reach out to the hundreds of people that put down a deposit. They had to explain the mistake and refund the money. The deposit amounts were $135 each. Imagine putting so little down on a new Porsche in 2023. Apparently the first person who put a deposit down was able to negotiate an “agreeable outcome” with the dealer. We don’t have the details, but that person probably got a nice deal on the car.
Chinese Market
Some folks may not realize this, but China is the largest single market for Porsche. In 2022, 93,286 Porsche vehicles were delivered to Chinese customers. This was despite the challenges posed by supply bottlenecks. So, when a mistake of this magnitude is made in Porsche’s largest market it can’t be laughed off. Although we might find it funny, Porsche must have a serious response. It seems like they managed to at least make one of the deposit holders happy. And to be honest if they others are at all rational, they must understand that it was a mistake and there is no way a new Panamera could be bought for so little money.
Porsche Panamera
In China Porsche offers 21 different Panamera variants. From the Base Panamera up to the Turbo S E-Hybrid Executive. While it is not quite as popular as the iconic 911, the Panamera does quite well in China. It is a true sportscar for four and is even offered in a wagon configuration. Or Sport Turismo in Porsche speak. The only thing that could make them more popular would be if Porsche sold them all for $18,000. But we don’t think that is ever going to happen. Still, it may be worth your time to keep your eyes peeled.
Images: Porsche
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