Strong performance in 2017: Porsche Holding Salzburg still on course for growth worldwide

• 22.4 billion euros in turnover (+6.2%)

• 1,046,700 new and used cars (+1.6%)

• 29,300 employees (-17.7%)

• 427 dealerships worldwide

In the 2017 calendar year, Porsche Holding Salzburg (PHS) set new records for vehicle sales and turnover, continuing its course for growth. New and used car sales rose by 1.6% year-on-year to 1,046,700 vehicles - the highest figure in the company's history. Around three quarters of the vehicles were new cars, the volume of which increased by 5.2% to 789,800 units. PHS set another new record with consolidated turnover of 22.4 billion euros (+6.2%).

These gratifying results were achieved in spite of the sale of retail subsidiary PGA Motors SAS in mid-2017, whose 9,800 employees sell non-Volkswagen Group brands at 261 dealerships in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Poland.

PHS's loss of some 84,000 new vehicles in the second half of the year through its disposal of PGA was more than compensated for by stronger market performance in all of the regions in which the company has wholesale and retail operations but also by additional volumes from new markets.

The headcount at PHS fell to 29,300 at the end of 2017 (-17.7%), while the number of dealerships dropped to 427 (-212). These declines are solely attributable to the PGA sale.

"We are delighted with Porsche Holding Salzburg's results for 2017 and are happy that we and our business partners have continued to grow despite the challenging conditions in some cases", said CEO of the PHS Management Board, Dr Hans Peter Schützinger, commenting on the very good set of results. "The broad, competitively superior model programme with its many new SUV models as well as our customers' strong sense of loyalty to the brands and their dealerships and service centres underpin this dynamic trend", he added.

New record in wholesale

Porsche Holding Salzburg now has automotive wholesale operations for Volkswagen Group brands in 20 countries around the world. Besides Austria and the entire CEE region, the company represents various Volkswagen Group brands in South America (Colombia and Chile) as well as in the ASEAN region (Malaysia and, since 2017, also in Singapore and Brunei). In wholesale, PHS delivered 364,830 new vehicles (+11.6%) to customers in 2017, increasing its turnover to 8.5 billion euros (+13.5%), thus setting  new records.

Healthy performance in retail as well

Porsche Holding likewise pulled ahead strongly in its retail dealerships for the Volkswagen Group brands. The company succeeded in selling 356,500 new cars in the 23 countries where its 427 dealerships are located, 32.1% more than in 2016. All of the countries in which PHS has retail operations for Volkswagen Group brands played a part in this growth.

Porsche Inter Auto with its dealerships in Austria, the CEE region and Italy turned in a very encouraging performance in 2017. Deliveries of new vehicles were given a substantial boost, increasing to 132,900 (+11.3%), as did turnover, which rose to 4.0 billion euros (+13.9%). The Group's own retail operations in the Volkswagen Group retail companies in Germany and Spain are also growing apace and lifted the volume of new vehicles to 125,200 (+4.7%). This generated turnover of 5.0 billion (+3.7%).

Strategic realignment of retail activities in France

PGA's vehicle sales from 2016 (153,900) and the first half of 2017 (70,000) are not reflected in the above description of retail results due to a strategic realignment of retail activities in France in mid-2017. Following the sale of PGA, a new company, Volkswagen Group Retail France (VGRF), was founded, whose 56 dealerships exclusively represent Volkswagen Group brands and sold around 12,000 new vehicles in the second half of the year.

Further acquisitions in retail (Sweden, Italy, France)

In April 2017, Porsche Holding Salzburg took over the Swedish DinBill Group, whose 37 dealerships and 2,000 employees sell approximately 45,000 new vehicles per year. The number of dealerships in Italy was also increased to eleven through the acquisition of a dealer network with six dealerships in the Florence region. In 2017, these dealerships delivered 12,000 new cars to customers. PHS opened three more retail dealerships in China in 2017, bringing the number of dealerships to 30 at the end of the year. The volume of new vehicles was raised to 29,500 (+31%).

Encouraging trend in used car sales

Used car sales developed very encouragingly in all markets in which PHS has retail operations for Volkswagen Group brands. In these 23 countries, 193,100 used cars were sold in 2017, an increase of 37.7% compared with the previous year. Up until its sale mid-year, the multi-brand group PGA had sold 63,800 used cars (46% of the volume from the 2016 calendar year). The lost volume was unable to be fully compensated for in other markets. Overall, PHS therefore sold 256,900 used cars in 2017, a decrease of 8.2% year-on-year.

Porsche Bank expands market leadership

With over 1,108,000 contracts^*) in its portfolio, the Porsche Bank Group achieved a record result in 2017. The long-established Austrian company is now represented in 15 countries and is the undisputed No. 1 in its domestic vehicle leasing market. The development of Porsche Bank is moving ahead very positively. In Austria, Porsche Bank's portfolio of financing contracts expanded by 11% in 2017 to more than 190,200 contracts. The new customer business also delivered a strong performance in 2017. Here, Porsche Bank recorded a 14.4% increase compared with the previous year. Through over 55,000 new leasing contracts, more than one in three Volkswagen Group vehicles is financed by Porsche Bank in Austria.

In the fleet segment, the increase was even more gratifying: Porsche Bank lifted its market share by 2.2% to a sensational 40.3%. This means the Bank remains the first choice for Austrian fleet customers. Porsche Bank is reinforcing its presence in the insurance sector and has acquired a majority stake of 85% in Volkswagen Versicherungsdienst GmbH Österreich (VVD). Since 1 January 2018, management responsibility therefore lies with Porsche Bank.

^*) 374,000 financing, 654,000 insurance and 80,000 maintenance contracts

^{PHS key figures for 2017}

Porsche Holding Salzburg: Salzburg-based Porsche Holding GmbH has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Volkswagen AG since 1 March 2011, managing automotive wholesale and retail operations and providing financial services as well as IT system developments. The company was founded in 1949 and operated in 27 countries including Austria, Western and Southeast Europe, as well as in Colombia, Chile, China, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei at the end of 2017.