Welcome to the intro statement of our Analyst and Investor Conference 2024. My name is Björn Scheib and I'm the Head of Investor Relations at Porsche AG. With me are today Oliver Blume, Chairman of the Executive Board, and Lutz Meschke, Deputy Chairman and Member of the Executive Board for Finance and IT. Both gentlemen will give you an update on our 2023 results, our strategy, and the 2024 outlook. But before we begin, let me remind you that any forward-looking statement to be made during this intro statement is subject to the risks and uncertainties mentioned in the Safe Harbor Statement included in the Porsche Materials Online. This call will also be governed by this language. And with that, I would love to hand over to Olli.
Fascinating sports cars-that's what Porsche has always stood for. For an iconic brand, for a very special spirit. Our ambition is always striving to be even better, and always backing our convictions. This is what we are about: always having the very clear goal of inspiring our customers again and again. Often this requires extra effort, but we'll still go on doing things exactly this way. In 2023 we delivered, and with these strong results behind us, we are seizing the initiative anew. Our industry is changing, as is society. We are looking at the long-term trends in customer demand. We are backing the core of what has always defined Porsche. We are laying the groundwork for deciding the future of Porsche. First with our products, which are the very heart of Porsche and always will be. 2024 is a Porsche product year.
It marks the biggest model offensive in the history of our company. With these cars we are laying the foundation for our success in the coming years. Combined with our globally balanced structure and strategy, we are convinced that with it we will inspire our customers. Second, with the positioning of our brand: Porsche is exclusive. Porsche is individual. And Porsche is desirable. Our brand fascinates people all over the world, across generations, and we are going to keep them charged. With Porsche, our customers make their dreams come true. This is what drives us today and tomorrow. And thirdly, with the transformation of our company: we are taking smart investment decisions in innovations, digitalization, and sustainability, and in the people who shape Porsche with the work they do every day. All this will make for an exciting year and a work-filled one.
We are going to feel this, but we'll be building on a solid foundation. Even in volatile times, Porsche is financially robust, with strong figures, a loyal customer base, and a very well-balanced sales structure. Our business model is future-proof, and our brand is more vibrant and stronger than ever before. Now I'm going to hand over to Lutz, who will be explaining last year's business numbers to you. Lutz, would you be so kind to give us an overview?
With pleasure, Olli. Thank you very much. In the first year after our IPO, we continued our profitable growth and delivered on our guidance. This success is the result of our Value-over-Volume strategy. Porsche sets ambitious goals every year, not just for model lines and derivatives, but also for our sales regions and individual markets. The focus is not on pure sales volume, but particularly on sales quality in the sense of balanced demand and supply. In 2023, Porsche showed robust growth and increased deliveries by 3% compared to 2022, to a total volume of more than 320,000 units. Our icon, the 911, benefits from unchanged strong global demand and lies ahead of all model series. An increase of around 10,000 delivered vehicles represents a strong growth of 24% compared to 2022.
Our sales region with the highest volume was North America, where we delivered around 86,000 new vehicles in 2023. This corresponds to a significant increase of 9%. We recorded the greatest growth in the Overseas and Emerging Markets sales region, with more than 52,000 customers taking delivery of their vehicles here in 2023, 16% more than in the previous year. In Europe, we also achieved a double-digit growth rate of deliveries in the past year. China and Hong Kong continue to be characterized by a challenging economic situation and weak demand in the luxury segment. Here we have carefully reconciled supply with demand. Reflecting our strong focus on stringent pricing, mix, and individualization, we were able to further increase revenues per vehicle to around EUR 117,000. With this strategic approach, we continuously develop our sales regions further. We foster the potential of growth areas, and we optimize our sales mix.
As a result, our global sales footprint has become even more balanced and more resilient. Now let's take a look at our incoming orders. These remain robust, and we have a well-filled order book on our current models. We expect positive impacts on orders and an additional positive pricing effect from our upcoming models and from increasing individualization. The new Macan Electric has already generated a great amount of interest, and the order bank is developing very satisfying. The order book in China and several other regions is only about to open. In addition, we are continuously improving the Porsche ecosystem to strengthen our value proposition towards our customers, with more functionality, extensive personalization, and tailor-made experiences. The ones of you who have visited our Exclusive Manufaktur at Zuffenhausen know what I'm talking about.
The mix and quality of our orders and order book shows that our customers appreciate our exclusive product offerings. Individualization per vehicle has constantly increased in the past years and is on a record high. Let's take a look at our 2023 results. As you can see, we achieved record results and resilient performance benefiting from our solid pricing, mix, and continued strong customer demand. In a challenging environment, we have kept executing our goals with teamwork and agility. Stringent with our strategy, we kept spending for product, innovation, and brand. In order to avoid overspending, we have expanded our ecosystem and partnerships. Our group revenue grew from EUR 37.6 billion in 2022 to EUR 40.5 billion in 2023. This corresponds to an increase of 7.7%. We improved our group operating profit by 7.6% to EUR 7.3 billion, compared with EUR 6.8 billion in the previous year.
The group's operating return on sales in 2023 was 18.0%. In the automotive business, we earned EUR 6.9 billion at a margin of 18.6%. We benefited from slightly increased sales, improved pricing, and a beneficial product mix. On the other hand, we accounted for higher costs from parts, raw materials, energy, and logistics. In 2023, we also increased our distribution expenses to strengthen our brand positioning. Key projects were our 75th anniversary, motorsports, and digitalization. We also had to digest higher costs for the upcoming product offensive. On top, we had to deal with higher D&A of more than EUR 300 million. At Financial Services, the penetration rate was lower at 40.1% due to successive pricing of increased refinancing costs. The risk profile of our portfolio remained robust. In 2023, Financial Services achieved a return on equity of 19.6% despite a slight decrease in operating profit to EUR 300 million.
One factor was the slightly lower portfolio margin due to the delayed pass-through of refinancing costs. The other drivers were less favorable valuation effects from hedging transactions. At the end of the financial year, the automotive net cash flow increased slightly compared to the previous year to EUR 4.0 billion. This corresponds to a net cash flow margin of 10.6%. The cash flow from operating activities of EUR 8.3 billion increased despite temporarily higher vehicle inventories at year-end, primarily driven by the launch of the new Cayenne. On the other hand, we invested around EUR 5 billion into product, innovation, the Porsche brand, and our ecosystem. This is the highest figure in our company's history to date. Without our cooperations and partnerships, this investment would have been significantly higher. At the end of 2023, our automotive net liquidity was at EUR 7.2 billion.
As you may remember from our capital allocation discussions during the IPO process, we are targeting a net liquidity ratio of 15%-20% of automotive net revenues. Our profit after tax rose from EUR 5.0 billion to EUR 5.2 billion. Earnings per preferred share thus amounted to EUR 5.67, compared with EUR 5.45 in the previous year. Of course, our shareholders will also benefit from our positive business development. The executive board and supervisory board will propose to the annual general meeting a dividend payment of EUR 2.1 billion for the past financial year. That's EUR 2.30 per ordinary share and EUR 2.31 per preference share. This distribution corresponds to 40.7% of the group's net income after tax. As we want our shareholders to participate in our future earnings, Porsche AG intends to pay an annual dividend of around 50% in the midterm.
Our subsidiaries also developed exciting and successful products and offerings. MHP, Porsche Financial Services, Porsche Lifestyle Group, Porsche Engineering, Porsche Consulting, and Porsche Digital contributed to our success in 2023 with positive results. In combination with our venture capital activities, they all make an important strategic and financial contribution, generating innovation impulses and securing access to new technologies. These partnerships support Porsche's future unique positioning. When we see opportunities, we also enter into strategic partnerships outside of the Porsche ecosystem, thus with focus on the digitalization of the vehicle. We invested a mid-three-digit million EUR amount in digital and software partnerships in the first quarter of 2024. This includes a stake in Applied Intuition supporting our development cooperation, which will further strengthen our business model in terms of Car- IT and driver experience.
We can't say more about these collaborations at the moment, but you see me very satisfied at this point. In any case, we can look forward to some interesting news in the upcoming weeks. Let yourself be surprised! All this shows: We are resolutely pushing ahead with digitalization in the company. In our operational business, we are already using artificial intelligence today, for example, to optimize customer contact, to improve quality, and to save costs. After talking about the preparation of our future, let's move to the outlook for 2024. As discussed earlier, we will keep inspiring our customers with four new models along with unique and truly engaging Porsche experiences. This year, more than ever. But the model changeovers will require additional tasks and hard work by our teams.
We have to deal with the ramp-down as well as the ramp-up of the production of four of our products in two plants at the same time. These V-shaped changeovers will result in a temporary lower output and will also affect our mix. Based on our strong product substance and individualization, we will continue to benefit from our pricing potential. With all that, we have a clear focus: Quality and satisfied customers are our key priorities. Therefore, our first quarter of 2024 will not only be characterized by the introduction of the new Panamera and Taycan, but also by quality and customer satisfaction initiatives. Based on this slow start into Q1 and reflecting our overall assumptions for 2024, we expect our group revenue to amount between EUR 40 billion-EUR 42 billion in 2024.
On the cost side, we have to assume continued cost inflation in materials, labor, and SG&A, plus the mentioned quality and customer satisfaction initiatives. In addition, we will spend in the continuous development of our brand and ecosystem. Due to the four launches, we also forecast increasing D&A of capitalized R&D and fixed assets. Based on these expectations, we anticipate a group operating return on sales in the range of 15%-17% in 2024. Our forecast for the automotive segment is an EBITDA margin between 24%-26% and a net cash flow margin in the range of 8.5%-10.5%. This range includes our continued investments in the upcoming product portfolio, digitalization, brand, and other strategic projects and partnerships. As a result of the staggered product introduction of our new models, we expect steadily better product supply over the course of the year.
With the higher availability of the new vehicles and our planned pricing initiatives, we expect steady positive topline and earnings effects by the end of the year. As part of the 2024 sales forecast, the company expects fully electrified vehicles to account for up to 13%-15% of total new vehicles delivered to customers, more than last year. At Porsche, we take challenges as an opportunity to excel. Porsche is switching to sport mode to further boost our resilience and be able to better counter uncertainties in the market. This will provide us with a strong foundation for the years to come. At the same time, we are pushing ahead with our ambitious Road to 20 program. With it, we want to further expand our long-term return target. Most importantly, Road to 20 is not a short-term, one-dimensional savings program.
Rather, we have put together a strategic, forward-looking program with carefully planned and closely coordinated measures. We are now working through this systematically. Thus, for the coming years, we are convinced that our exclusive range of new vehicles will continue to increase our margin. With that, I'll give it back to Oliver. Thank you very much!
Thank you, Lutz. Porsche is facing the future with courage and acting decisively, with pioneering spirit and passion. We at Porsche don't believe in coincidences. We strongly believe that success can be planned. This is how we've always developed Porsche: we have a consistent strategy and a specific concept for how to implement it. We do not rest on our laurels. And we don't shirk any challenges. We stick to our path.
The heart of Porsche is our products, in which we combine our tradition and our values with state-of-the-art technologies - to make our customers' dreams come true with each and every car. We are going to make 2024 a year of new, fascinating products. Never has Porsche had so many new models in a single year. We are starting with the new all-electric Macan - the first car based on our new Premium Platform Electric, which is produced net carbon neutral here in Leipzig, on the same line as its combustion engine predecessor. This gives us maximum flexibility in order to react precisely to the demands of the market. Then the Taycan, whose success shows that electromobility made by Porsche is a winner. And now comes the next generation of the Taycan, and it's better in practically every respect. The same applies to the Panamera.
The third model generation is more digital, more luxurious, and more efficient. Finally, our icon, the 911. In 2024, the 911 is set to impress once again with technological innovations, with an even higher performance hybrid drive derived from motorsport. One thing is clear: with these new models, we are in an ideal starting position for the coming years. In 2025, we will have an almost completely new product portfolio on the market, all set up already, with innovative drive technologies allowing us to meet the widest range of customers' expectations all over the world. It's also clear that making so many launches in such a short period is an extremely complex task, which is why we are approaching it with care and consideration. Because there are further challenges: the geopolitical situation remains tense, some of our supply chains are still volatile, and some markets are undergoing major changes.
In China, for example, we have to master all of these challenges. But we've prepared ourselves well and with foresight, a solid foundation with which we can be optimistic. In other words, we are holding all the cards, and now is the time to play them. With the Macan, we are taking the digitalization of our cars to a new level. You all know our standards with regard to exclusivity and performance. With regard to quality, design, and driving dynamics, our standards for digitalization are just as high. And we have prioritized this topic accordingly in our new Car- IT executive board area under Sajjad Khan. Sajjad has been on board for a good three months. And I have to say that with his expertise and experience, he has already been the source of important impulses, in close collaboration with our executive board member for development, Michael Steiner.
In their work, they apply themselves consistently to the question: What do our customers expect of Porsche? The answer is obvious: they want to have the digital environment that they are used to in their car as well. That said, their preferences can be very different, depending on the part of the world we are. As a global brand, we want to take this into account. One example: we offer our customers the option of controlling car functions directly in Apple CarPlay - as the first manufacturer worldwide. They can change radio stations, adjust their air conditioning, or the ambient lighting. Android Auto is also available. We are also expanding our collaboration with Google. Here too, we aim to integrate the services even more fully into our cars - for example, navigation, voice control, and the app ecosystem.
Our customers in China, on the other hand, use their own digital ecosystems and platforms, for news, chat, entertainment, and payments. We are also pushing forward the integration of these services. We are collaborating with strong partners in every area that counts. Because it's also clear that a Porsche must always remain a Porsche. And it will. The new Macan is currently proving this. You all know our goal: we want to deliver more than 80% of our new vehicles fully electrified in 2030, depending on demand and on the development of electromobility in the respective regions of the world. Which is why we are staying flexible with a wide range of drivetrain technologies, all electric cars, efficient plug-in hybrids, and emotional combustion engine cars, even overlapping for a specific period, depending on the market, for the optimum fulfillment of all customer wishes.
We are focusing on our longstanding, loyal customers just as much as on new buyers, for example, in the Asian region, where we are winning more and more people over to our brand. This is where we also see a lot of potential. All the while, we are adhering consistently to our strategy. We are prioritizing value-creating growth, expanding our portfolio, and at the same time making our products even more exclusive, more individual, and more desirable. We are helped by the strengths of our brand. In 2023, we celebrated 75 years of Porsche sports cars. The events showed that the Porsche brand is an icon. It has the power to bring people together across generations all over the world. Owning a Porsche is one thing. The other is being a part of something bigger, sharing joy and enthusiasm with others, but also our values, our responsibility to society.
At the same time, Porsche is exclusive, highly individual, and for many, the fulfillment of a very personal dream. We don't believe this exists anywhere else in the world. We are going to further hone this profile - with even more opportunities to customize a Porsche to the latest detail, all the way to the exclusive one-off car. To this end, we have reinterpreted the legendary Sonderwunsch program, which gives our customers almost unlimited possibilities. Exceptional products also require exceptional experiences and services. We want to inspire our customers - to inspire them everywhere they come into contact with our brand. This is why we continue to invest in our ecosystem. What's key here? Doing the right things and doing them right. This is what we focus on, and this is what has made us so successful at Porsche for many years.
To the credit of the entire Porsche team: thank you all for your excellent work. You are a fantastic team. Of course, we all know that the path to success is never straightforward. In this year in particular, the challenges will be considerable. We know we can do this. We've proven it time and time again, during the coronavirus pandemic, in the face of the semiconductor shortage, or the consequences of the Ukraine-Russia conflict. We can continue to act from a position of strength. We are going to market with attractive new models, and our customers' feedback shows us that we are on the right track here. 2024 offers many opportunities. An exciting, important time lies ahead of us, and we'll know how to use it.