It is hard to contemplate the issues between Russia and Ukraine, and how the entire world is feeling some level of effect from their conflicts. To add yet another downside to the situation at hand, Porsche has temporarily ceased all car production due to the conflicts between the neighboring countries. Other automotive industry blogs, including Carscoops and Jalopnik have generated articles on the matter as well. It’s just too important, although upsetting, to not spread the word about. According to Jalopnik, an internal memo had been made from within Porsche, posted to Twitter, which “blames supply chain woes for the disruption.”
It has not yet been confirmed whether or not this tip is entirely true. However, if it is a valid statement, then the outcome is far from positive for individuals looking to purchase a new Porsche now and in the near future.
The production pauses are being initiated in turns, depending on the model of Porsche. To begin the process, the Cayenne, Macan, Taycan and Panamera models have already had their productions paused. The 718 Cayman and Boxster will be paused on March 14th. The 911 GT3 and GT3 Touring will halt production starting on March 17th, just in time for Saint Patrick’s Day. After those, all other 911 models will cease production on March 31st.
There is unfortunately no official end date to most of these production pauses, nor how negative the impact of these pauses will be on the industry as a whole. However, Porsche reported, and Jalopnik stated, that Panamera and Macan production had been planned to restart March 11th.
This information came to be, only a few days after Porsche had declared ceasing vehicle deliveries to Russia. According to the article from Carscoops, “The German car manufacturer operates 26 Porsche Centers throughout Russia and in the 2021 financial year, a total of 6,262 vehicles were delivered in the country, representing a small sliver of the 301,915 vehicles that Porsche delivered worldwide last year. Russia’s most popular Porsche model for 2021 was the Cayenne, accounting for 54 percent of all deliveries with 3,431 units sold.”
The crisis occurring in Ukraine has generated a massively sad snowball effect across, not only the car industry, but on gasoline prices around the entire United States. These prices have scarily skyrocketed over the past few weeks, with what seems like no end in sight. The general question we all have: When will they peak?
News like this has no good timing associated with it, but it is especially bad considering the cargo ship fire that occurred at the end of February. An article by Jalopnik provided more information on the matter. The Felicity Ace, a cargo ship that had been carrying Porsches and other luxury vehicles including Audis, Lamborghinis, Bentleys, and Volkswagens, caught fire in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Roughly 1,100 Porsches were aboard the Felicity Ace, and the overall damage when counting every car, regardless of the make, totaled over $335 million.
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