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Our reporter Xia Zhibin and Shi Yingjing report from Shanghai

(Alexander Pollich. Image from Porsche China official WeChat account)

On July 20, Porsche AG announced a new high-level personnel change. Alexander Pollich will officially take office as President and CEO of Porsche China on September 1, fully responsible for the brand's business in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. At the same time, the current President and CEO of Porsche China, Michael Koch, will be transferred to another important position within the group.

China Business News noted that Pollich has served the Porsche brand for 23 years and has held several key management positions within the group. He is a sales expert with international work experience. Since July 2018, he has served as Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche Deutschland GmbH and will soon take charge of China, an important sales market.

According to official information released by Porsche, Pollich, 57, was the CEO of Porsche Canada and the UK before taking charge of Porsche's home market in Germany, where he successfully expanded the brand's business in both regions. Pollich has a background in business administration and economics and worked in Porsche's strategic department, developing a global sales network.

“We are very pleased to have Mr. Pollich take charge of the challenging Chinese market. He is an experienced sales expert who will further enhance the influence of the Porsche brand in China. At the same time, we are very grateful to Mr. Kossmaier for his contribution to Porsche China in the past two years.” said von Peder, member of the Porsche Global Executive Board and head of sales and marketing.

The current fierce competition in China's auto industry means that the pressure Pollich faces is self-evident. According to relevant data, Porsche's global sales in the first half of this year were 155,945 vehicles, a year-on-year decrease of 7%, with declines in both the North American and Chinese markets. Among them, Porsche's sales in the North American market were 39,558 vehicles, a year-on-year decrease of 6%. In the Chinese market, sales were 29,551 vehicles, a year-on-year decrease of 33%.

Why did the above situation occur? Zhang Xiang, a researcher at the Automotive Industry Innovation Research Center of the North China University of Technology, once told reporters that under the dual influence of policies and the market, domestic consumers' acceptance of domestic high-end new energy vehicles has continued to increase. "In recent years, domestic new energy vehicles have achieved a high-end overtaking, and their market share has increased year by year. For example, in the price range of 300,000 to 500,000 yuan, Weilai and Ideal have done very well, and BYD has also sold very well for luxury cars above 1 million yuan."

Due to the poor market performance, Porsche China was also pushed to the forefront of public opinion this year due to rumors that some dealers were preparing to "force the German headquarters to abdicate." It is reported that the trigger for the above incident was that Porsche's sales in China declined and pure electric models were difficult to sell, causing dealers to sell cars at a loss. However, Porsche still chose to pressure dealers to increase inventory, so the conflict between the two sides intensified. Some Porsche dealers in China used the weapon of stopping the import of cars and "forced the German headquarters to abdicate," demanding that Porsche headquarters provide subsidies and replace senior executives.

Porsche China then officially released a "Joint Statement from Porsche China and All Authorized Dealers" to publicly respond to the cooperation and future development between Porsche China and its dealers. Porsche China said: "The current automotive industry is undergoing unprecedented major changes. Porsche China and its dealers are facing a number of complex issues, with both opportunities and challenges."

The above statement pointed out that Porsche China and all authorized dealers have always maintained a long-term, trustful and normal dialogue mechanism. During the period of industry change and transformation, automobile manufacturers should always actively listen to the voices of dealers from the front line. Only by working more closely and supporting each other can manufacturers and dealers better meet the needs of Chinese consumers and achieve sustainable win-win development.

Porsche China also said: "Through full discussions, we are jointly seeking effective ways to actively respond to market changes and find new opportunities in challenges. These discussions involve many aspects, including but not limited to business policies, local customer insights, customer service, and electrification transformation and many other key areas."

(Editor: Shi Yingjing Reviewer: Tong Haihua Proofreader: Yan Jingning)