The most profitable car launched in the past year was not a Tesla. Nor was it some crazy hypercar. It was the new Porsche 911.
The eighth generation of Porsche's iconic car, known internally and to Porsche faithful as the 992, is more profitable, proportionately speaking, than any other vehicle that debuted in the past year.
The 911 has accounted for nearly 30 percent of total Porsche earnings since it launched, even though it made up only 11 percent of sales, according to a recent report by Bloomberg Intelligence.
That percentage beats elite models such as the Ferrari F8 Tributo, Aston Martin DBX, Mercedes-Benz GLE, and BMW X5, each of which also punch above their weight when it comes to profit margins.
The F8 Tributo, for example, has a 50 percent sales margin but contributes just 17 percent of total vehicle earnings at Ferrari. Aston Martin will sell an anticipated 4,500 units of its DBX in 2020, doubling sales volumes and singlehandedly accounting for 21 percent of total vehicle contribution at the UK sports-car maker. The DBX likely to push Aston Martin Ebitda margins to 30 percent, according to the report.
As for the SUVs, the GLE, together with its GLS sibling, will account for 24 percent of earnings at Mercedes in 2020, from just 9 percent of total volume; the BMW X5 will account for 16 percent of auto earnings, with just 7 percent of BMW's volume.