Get All Access for $5/mo

Porsche Listed a $148,000 Car for $18,000 By Mistake — Here's What Happened (No, They Didn't Cancel All of the Reservations). Hundreds of online reservations rolled in before the Germany-based carmaker realized the error.

By Amanda Breen

Sjoerd van der Wal | Getty Images

It's a dream shared by many car aficionados: owning a luxury vehicle.

Some Porsche fans were ready to make it a reality when a Porsche AG dealership in China posted an online advertisement for the carmaker's latest Panamera — and mistakenly set the price at 124,000 yuan ($18,000) instead of 998,000 yuan ($148,000), Bloomberg reported.

Related: Things to Keep in Mind Before Renting a Luxury Car

Naturally, hundreds of reservation fees rolled in (roughly equivalent to $135) before Porsche acknowledged the dealership had committed "a serious mistake in the listed retail price."

In the first three quarters of 2022, Porsche delivered 221,512 vehicles to customers across the globe, a 2% increase year over year, according to a release from the Germany-based company, and China remains its largest single market.

But it's not the end of the road for all of the hopeful drivers who hit the "buy" button online.

Porsche told Bloomberg that they contacted the first person to make an online reservation and "negotiated an agreeable outcome" for the one vehicle the dealership had on hand. No further details were provided.

Related: Volvo's Design Team Has Reimagined the Luxury Car

Porsche got in touch with the other bidders to inform them of the blunder and apologize. A spokesperson told Bloomberg that those reservation fees would be refunded within 48 hours.

Amanda Breen

Entrepreneur Staff

Senior Features Writer

Amanda Breen is a senior features writer at Entrepreneur.com. She is a graduate of Barnard College and received an MFA in writing at Columbia University, where she was a news fellow for the School of the Arts.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Side Hustle

The Side Hustle He Started in His College Apartment Turned Into a $70,000-a-Month Income Stream — Then Earned Nearly $2 Million Last Year

Kyle Morrand and his college roommates loved playing retro video games — and the pastime would help launch his career.

Business News

A Former Corporate Lawyer Now Makes Six Figures on YouTube — Here's How She Does It

Here are the secrets to starting and growing a successful YouTube channel, according to a YouTuber with millions of subscribers.

Growing a Business

How to Determine The Ideal Length of Your Marketing Emails Your Customers Will Actually Read

Wondering how long your marketing emails should be? Here's what consumers say — so you can send them exactly what they like.

Business Ideas

63 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.

Business News

Y Combinator Helped Launch Reddit, Airbnb and Dropbox. Here's What I Learned From Its Free Startup School.

The famed startup accelerator offers a free course on building a business — and answers five pressing questions for founders.