Hello and welcome to our Analysts and Investors Update on the first half of 2024. My name is Björn Scheib, and with me is our CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board, Oliver Blume, and our CFO and Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board, Lutz Meschke. Today we would like to give you a brief insight into our business performance of the first half of 2024. All materials, such as the Investor's Deck or half-year financial report, are available in the Investor's section of the Porsche website. Before we begin, let me remind you that any forward-looking statements we make during this statement are subject to the risks and uncertainties mentioned in the Safe Harbor Statement included in the Porsche materials. This intro will also be governed by this language. With that said, I'd like to hand it over to Oli.
Good morning and a very warm welcome to all of you listening. Great to have you here. Together with my colleague Lutz Meschke, I would like to give you an overview of Porsche AG's performance of the first half of this year. We are currently running the largest model offensive in our history, and this in a very challenging environment. Never before have we renewed our product portfolio so comprehensively in such a short time: Panamera, Taycan, Macan. Just a few weeks ago, the world premiere of our icon, the 911, all fully updated and with a Cayenne in addition. Together, that's five of six series new in such a short time span. This year, Panamera, Taycan, and 911 have already made a well-received start in the market, all on time. The Macan is following in September.
With all these model changes, we are launching the strongest product range ever. We cut the average age of our product portfolio in half, from three years to currently one and a half, and we will keep them fresh and attractive for years to come with further innovations. This clearly shows we are implementing what we have announced. We deliver, and we see that our course is paying off. After business development was rather subdued in the first quarter as expected, it picked up in the second quarter. All in all, this leads to a robust first half of 2024. However, it is currently becoming apparent that a significant supply shortage for aluminum parts will affect our planning. We adjusted the forecast accordingly on Monday evening. Lutz will explain the details to you in a moment.
As always, there are two things we are absolutely focused on: quality and delighted customers. We have recently been able to improve quality yet again. Claims per car are down on an all-time record level, and that's in spite of great technological complexities. The feedback from our customers shows us that we are on the right track. In the U.S.A., we recently scored first place in the luxury segment in the quality study of J.D. Power. What's best to reflect Chinese customer satisfaction, Porsche is number one in NCBS dealer satisfaction, and in addition, we ranked also number one in several categories of J.D. Power brand model level in the luxury segment. Of course, we continue to work high-speed on improving even more. With innovations in terms of performance and driving experience, we are setting standards and supporting our claim to technological leadership.
The new 911 Carrera GTS is the first one with a lightweight performance hybrid. The newly developed innovative drivetrain ensures significantly improved driving performance. The media and customer response has been extremely positive, and the other innovations are also very well received. The Panamera with the Porsche Active Ride suspension, the enormous performance boost in the new Taycan, together with significantly higher range and shorter charging time. With the fully electric Macan, we are raising digitalization to the next level. The augmented head-up display and the navigation charging planner are best-in-class examples. Our new HD Matrix LED headlights that first came with the new Cayenne, just to name a few. Our product strategy is designed to allow for more than 80% of our new cars fully electrified in 2030, depending on the demand of our customers and the development of electromobility in the regions of the world.
Positive remark is that we are already flexibly invested in our drivetrain offers for all our segments: ICE, hybrid, and BEV for the two-door sports cars, sports limousines, and SUVs. Our production sites in Zuffenhausen and Leipzig are set up accordingly flexible. Both plants produce vehicles with all three drivetrains. However, it is clear that many product launches in such a short time frame are an extremely complex task, especially in a volatile environment, both economically and politically. One thing has become more and more evident: the transformation of the automotive industry towards fully electric vehicles has clearly lost momentum and speed. The ramp-up curve is much flatter than originally assumed. As always, we are monitoring customer interest very closely, and we are adjusting our range and production accordingly where necessary. This is particularly important in view of the fundamental change in the Chinese market.
We assume that market conditions there will remain difficult in the medium term, particularly in the luxury segment. The implementation of a value-oriented and brand-appropriate growth strategy will be one of the principal tasks of the new CEO of Porsche China, Alexander Pollich. Beyond this, his focus will be on an even more intensive collaboration with the local dealer partners, as well as the further optimization of the internal processes and structures. We are strengthening our brand without joining the current pricing and incentive dynamic of the market, accepting lower volumes. The current residual values of our product are a positive indication. At the same time, it pays off that we have worked intensively on balancing our sales in different parts of the world.
The China share of our worldwide deliveries was recently 19% in the first half of this year, and we were able to compensate for this well with a strong development in other regions. This proves our increased independence from the Chinese market and the robustness of our business model. We continue to consistently adhere to our value-over-volume approach. In line with this principle, we will continue to produce high-quality vehicles with attractive features and a profitable cost structure in China and in all other regions worldwide. The demand for our individualized vehicles is greater than ever. Since the IPO, we have been able to increase sales per vehicle resulting from individualization by over 13%, despite the increasing product substance with each new model generation.
We will continue to make very targeted investments in innovation, digitalization, and sustainability to inspire our customers with our new vehicles to further charge the Porsche brand. Our ambition is always to become even better, even in view of the challenging macroeconomic environment and the changing framework conditions. This is why we are also reviewing and prioritizing our cost structure and scope of development. We keep on focusing on our long-term ambition of more than 20% group return on sales. To regularly reflect on and optimize our actions is a very important part of the Porsche DNA. It is a reason why Porsche is so robustly positioned today and has successfully mastered various challenges in the recent years: the coronavirus pandemic, for example, the semiconductor shortages, or the consequences of the war in Ukraine.
We will retain this robustness for the future with the aim of further increasing our own resilience and being able to counter future uncertainties in the markets even better. Our focus is on the stringent implementation of our Porsche strategy, which we are also sharpening and readjusting in some areas. In doing so, we are also taking account of the challenging framework conditions and market, as well as our customers and their needs. With Strategy 2030 Plus, the company is further being systematically developed, and new accents can be set. We have defined our stance as a modern luxury brand for all elements of the strategy. Quality standards are also to be strengthened. Together with our Road to 20, it forms the foundation. We are also responding to the increased relevance of the topics of car IT, artificial intelligence, and culture.
In our software strategy, our customers benefit from the new partnerships with the aim of creating leading technology architectures. This will enable us to bring the best solutions to our vehicles faster and at lower cost. We are also acting in the best interests of our strong brand, which will inspire with its iconic products. The partnerships fit seamlessly into our existing software strategy, products, and corporations. This will strengthen our technology profile and our competitiveness. Let me briefly summarize. Our business development is proceeding according to plan despite all challenging environments. We launched our new products on time with positive feedback from the media and good response in the market. We have a high ramp-up quality and positive external quality assessments of Porsche products. In terms of sales, the dip in China can almost be compensated, and the financial result in Q2 is in the accepted range.
With the largest product offensive in Porsche's history, we are putting ourselves in pole position in the endurance race of transformation. Numerous technological highlights underline our innovative strengths. We want to inspire our customers worldwide. This makes us confident regarding the return to our midterm profitability range of 17% to 19% in 2025. And now I hand over to Lutz Meschke to tell you the figures in detail. Lutz, it's up to you.
Thank you, Oli. Now let's talk about our operating performance and business model. Our Q2 results are illustrating our robust business model, which can compensate a regional vehicle sales mix and lower China sales with a strong product portfolio, better product availability, and a strong mix. Our second quarter was better than Q1 in terms of group revenue, in terms of group operating profit, and in terms of group return on sales. Our return on sales for Q2 was 17.0%. In addition, we have been boldly forging ahead with our product offensive. With the new Panamera, Taycan, Macan, and 911, we are putting ourselves in a strong position for the years ahead to exploit our structural growth potential. The associated transitions are complex and have temporarily led to gaps in the range in individual markets and model series.
At the same time, we are conscious that the adaptation of transformation and demand in global markets is developing quite differently. Thus, we have already started to take action. Throughout our entire history, Porsche has proven to be agile, flexible, and willing and able to recalibrate and reprioritize projects and products, all focusing and increasing our flexibility and resilience while fulfilling the Porsche brand promise to our customers. But now to the H1 results. In the first half of 2024, we were able to achieve a more balanced sales structure in our sales regions and compensate for challenges in individual markets. Our attractive product portfolio, in combination with a very robust demand from our loyal customer base, gives us stability. This is the foundation to consistently pursue our strategy of value-oriented sales in the future. In the past six months, we sold over 151,900 vehicles.
This corresponds to a decline of 11% to the previous year. After Q1 being impacted by the ramp-up of the new Taycan and Panamera, as well as customer-related delays in North America, we sold overall 81,300 vehicles at the end of the second quarter. Overall, sales of the 718 and our icon, the 911, remain continuously robust, and the order intake for the new 911, especially the T-Hybrid GTS, is experiencing quite strong customer demand. First Carrera deliveries are planned after the summer break, and GTS starts at the end of 2024. After initiation of the changeover in 2023, the Cayenne is fully available in all our sales regions, which is also reflected in a strong sales increase of 13.7% in H1 compared to the previous year. As mentioned, Panamera and Taycan sales reflect the run-out and ramp-up phase.
Because of the model changeover in many markets and the strong previous year period, Macan sales were also lower. In North America, we sold a strong 40,500 vehicles in the second half of 2024, following customs-related delays in the delivery of some vehicles in Q1. Despite the ongoing tense economic situation in the Chinese market and lower demand in the luxury segment, we keep focusing on our value-over-volume strategy with value-oriented sales and customer satisfaction. With a share of 20% from China sales in H1, 80% of our global sales are coming from Europe, North America, and our market region overseas and emerging markets. We have a more balanced sales footprint than ever, and Porsche is in the position to deal with the current China exposure. We will work to further increase our resilience and to be able to counter future uncertainties in markets even better.
This means also to start the necessary initiatives to recalibrate and align our China ecosystem with the current demand environment. As said, we will initiate incremental initiatives to further increase our resilience and to be able to counter future uncertainties in markets even better. Let's now turn to the financials. Group revenue in the first six months was €19.5 billion, a decline by 4.8%. This development is reflecting the lower vehicle availability due to the changeovers. On the other hand, we benefited from a better product mix and pricing, leading to an underproportional decline of group revenues compared to our vehicle sales. Group operating profit was €3.1 billion at a margin of 15.7% for the first half of 2024, benefiting from a strong operating margin of 17% in Q2. The earnings per preferred share for the first six months amounted to €2.37.
Let's now talk about our customer demand. The mix and quality of our orders and order book demonstrate that our customers appreciate our exclusive product offering and very much make use of the opportunity to personalize their vehicle. We are seeing sustained robust interest in our vehicles, a situation that will become more apparent as the supply restrictions that affected us are expected to be easing. Overall, in all regions except China, order intake stays robust with a strong mix and pricing. As mentioned, demand for the new 911 is satisfying and above expectations. Also, the demand for the all-electric Macan remains high. Unchanged, the first vehicles will be handed over to customers in September. For the rest of the year, we will have to closely monitor potential retaliatory measures on Chinese car imports and the potential effect for the demand for our products.
Pricing again was positive, benefiting from the price increases last year, new models, and a higher degree of individualization. Despite a significantly lower share of sales to China, the average sales price on retail in Q2 was €122,000 per vehicle. Automotive revenues per wholesale was €117,000 per vehicle in Q2. Automotive revenues amounted to €17.7 billion year to date. The automotive segment's operating profit in the first six months of 2024 was at €2.9 billion. The operating return on sales for automotive was 16.4% in H1, supported by better product supply, especially with the Cayenne in Q2. Cost of goods sold remained elevated due to the continued supplier cost inflation and higher launch costs, which were mainly caused by expensed R&D in connection with the product portfolio.
The first half, we also booked slightly higher sales and marketing expenses resulting from our digitalization strategy and an increase in brand and customer relation services. Porsche is committed to continue to inspire its customers with desirable and high-performance vehicles in the luxury segment and to further advance its strategy of value-creating growth. This is the foundation for our consistent stellar financial performance in the future. Thus, we spent €2.5 billion on CapEx and research and development in the first half. Let's now focus on our R&D this quarter. After the exceptional high R&D ratio at the beginning of the year, the R&D ratio in Q2 24 was at 6.0%. Capitalized R&D amounted to around €0.3 billion in Q2, a ratio of 57%. Depreciation and amortization of capitalized development costs amounted to around €240 million.
Thus, the expense of R&D in Q2 was around 100 million higher than last year, equaling 5.1% of automotive revenues. Automotive EBITDA in the first half of 2024 was €4.3 billion, corresponding to an automotive EBITDA margin of 24.1%. Financial services revenue amounted to €1.9 billion in the first six months. The operating profit of the financial services segment was €129 million. Unchanged, the result is mainly driven by the valuation of interest rate hedging transactions and derivatives outside hedge accounting in the context of regular refinancing activities. The reversals in loan loss provisions were lower than in the same period of the previous year. Unchanged, the credit quality of our book is still very, very strong. Our financial services penetration rate at the end of Q2 2024 was 35.6%, which was 530 basis points lower than last year.
This development reflects that we pass on the market terms in our offers. Furthermore, we earned an automotive net cash flow of €1.1 billion in H1 2024. In Q2 alone, we accounted for €1.0 billion. The net cash flow was mainly driven by the following factors: a cash flow from operating activities of €1.8 billion, an increase in working capital. The main outflows were due to temporary higher inventories, €300 million of new products. At the end of the quarter, the market launch of the Macan and the ongoing challenges in the supply chain led to this change. Our cash flow from investing activities reflects our continuous spending for the development of our brand and ecosystem. At last, our automotive net liquidity was at €6.1 billion at the end of the second quarter after this year's dividend payment of €2.1 billion in early June.
Let's move on to the outlook for 2024. Porsche inspires its customers with new vehicles and exciting digital customer experience. With focus on the changing demand patterns in our key markets, another asset is our strong product portfolio and the established flexibility between platforms and drivetrains. Based on our performance culture, we will continue to resolutely push ahead with our strategy and invest in our product, brand, and innovation. The spending into our ecosystem today will be the revenues and earnings of tomorrow. At the moment, we are looking forward to the upcoming product launches: the new Macan Electric and 911. These strong new products already create amazing feedback and earn exceptional customer reception. As also said before, these model changeovers will require additional tasks and hard work by our teams.
Model changeovers require additional attention in our production facilities, yet we are well prepared with our industry-leading, most flexible production sites, Leipzig and Zuffenhausen. These V-shaped changeovers will result in temporary lower output, lower product supply, and higher temporary inventory. This will have an impact in the second half of the year, especially Q3. As already discussed, we have made very good progress in the industrialization of the supply chain for the 911. Regarding the 911 Carrera and GTS introduction, we again fully focus on quality and ramp up production accordingly. First GTS deliveries will take place in Q4 2024 and will consistently increase in the course of H1 2025. The growing order book and waiting list shows that our loyal customers understand and value our quality-focused ramp-up. Now let's come to sales and pricing.
Based on the scheduled product introductions, we had expected a continuously improving product availability, and we were very well on track for the second half of 2024, which we had expected to also reflect in our sales and pricing. However, as we informed you on Monday evening, various of our suppliers are currently affected by a significant supply shortage with regard to special aluminum alloys. The supply shortage is the result of the flooding of production facility of an important European aluminum supplier who has informed its customers of a force majeure event. Affected are lightweight body components made of aluminum, which are used in all vehicle series manufactured by Porsche. Despite immediate countermeasures, it is becoming apparent that the impending supply shortage will lead to impairments in production, which will not be fully compensated for in the further course of the year.
Now I give you an outlook on the revenues. We have a very strong order book, and we were well on track to deliver on our outlook. But against the background of the flooding of the aluminum plant, we have decided to adjust our forecast for the financial year. We now expect our full-year revenue target between €39 billion to €40 billion. Still, we will have to continuously monitor demand patterns, our supply chain and developments in the different world regions, and actively adapt our production capacities if required. Here we will remain attentive and consistently focus on the value-oriented development in the Chinese market. This also holds especially true for potential tariffs on Chinese car inputs and the potential effect for the demand for our products. On the cost side, the supply chain, labor, and SG&A will remain to be a considerable burden.
In addition, the introduction of the new products will be accompanied by temporary higher launch costs and higher D&A on capitalized R&D and CapEx than in H1. In the remainder of the year, we will also continue with the stringent but flexible execution of our strategy and continue our investments in our ecosystem to boost the quality of customer service and ultimately that of the Porsche brand. Based on the outlined situation, Porsche AG Group now forecasts a group operating profit in the range of 14% to 15% for the full year 2024, as published in the combined management report due to countermeasures initiated. Our forecast for the automotive segment is an EBITDA margin between 23% and 24% and a net cash flow margin in the range of 7.0% to 8.5%. This range includes our continued investments in the upcoming product portfolio, digitalization, brand, and other strategic projects and partnerships.
Let me also share a couple of thoughts on our disciplined capital allocation strategy. As you know from our IPO deck, our targeted spending for product, innovation, and our ecosystem will stay elevated and around this year's level in the midterm. It is well understood that with respect to the slower BEV transformation in the Western world and the modest luxury demand in China, we will refocus and recalibrate our budgets and projects. Let me summarize: Porsche is exclusive. Porsche is individual. Our brand fascinates people all over the world and across generations. Going forward, our strategy stays focused on further strengthening the Porsche brand. Throughout our entire history, Porsche has proven to be agile and flexible. We have shown more than once with respect to our budgets and spending that we see challenges as an opportunity to become even better.
We have already proven several times that this is in our DNA. Always focused to increase our flexibility and resilience whilst fulfilling the Porsche brand promise to our customers. This will provide us with a more resilient foundation for the years to come. At the same time, we are pushing ahead with our ambitious Road to 20 program. With this, we want to further expand our long-term return target in a systematic manner. Thank you very much for your attention.