A Porsche Dealership in China Mistakenly Put the $148,000 Panamera on Sale for $18,000
Collectors in China almost scored one of Stuttgart’s finest for an eighth of its usual asking price.
A Porsche AG dealership in the Southeast Asian country recently advertised the latest Panamera for a surprisingly modest $18,000 (¥124,000) instead of listing the actual starting price of $148,000 (¥998,000), as reported by Bloomberg.
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After hundreds of savvy collectors put down $135 (¥911) reservation fees for the sedan, Porsche acknowledged the dealership in the northern city of Yinchuan had uploaded an online ad containing “a serious mistake in the listed retail price.” Upon realizing the error, the dealership took down the incorrect information immediately, a spokeswoman for the German marque told Bloomberg.
The slip-up had a silver lining for one particular collector, though. Porsche said it had reached out to the first person who made an online reservation and “negotiated an agreeable outcome” regarding the one Panamera the dealership had in stock. Oh, to be a fly on the wall for that exchange.
Porsche also contacted all of the other interested parties to explain the situation and apologize. The automaker will refund reservation fees within 48 hours, the spokeswoman said. It’s worthwhile keeping collectors in the country onside, too; China is currently Porsche’s biggest market. In the first half of 2022, the marque sold 46,664 vehicles in the country (about 30 percent of global sales) and raked in $6.2 billion.
Porsche didn’t make any significant changes to the Panamera for 2023, though it is available in a wide range of variants and prices. The base model comes with a 2.9-liter V-6 good for 325 hp, while the range-topping GTS is equipped with a 4.0-liter V-8 that can churn out 473 horses. You can also opt for either conventional gas engines or a hybridized powertrain.
In terms of bodies, the Executive variants feature a longer wheelbase and offer considerably more legroom than the standard model. There’s also the wagon-like Sport Turismo that provides additional cargo space, an optional rear center seat and more headroom.
The next-gen Panamera will likely debut sometime this year, before arriving at dealers as a 2024 model. Porsche has yet to announce pricing, but you can expect the new ride to set you back quite a bit more than $18,000.
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