Porsche was spared a major embarrassment – by the Chinese. According to an emailed memo, the boys in Zuffenhausen sold 10,722 vehicles worldwide in July, that’s 4 percent below the 11,169 units sold in July 2010. It could have been worse.

In Europe, Porsche sales were down a 38.3 percent in July. And who’s to blame? The Cayenne Diesel. It’s not that is sales had suddenly evaporated. In July 2010, the oil burning Cayenne racked up so many sales that Porsche now has a hard time beating that number. July would have been a disaster (percentage-wise) without the Chinese. They bought a whopping five times the number of Porsches sold in July last year. For the year, the Chinese bought 14,751 Porsches, twenty percent of the world total of 71,381 units sold so far. The Chinese are especially infatuated by the Cayenne, and China is Porsche’s second largest market. There is no info on the Diesel take rate in the Middle Kingdom.

Overall, Porsche is blasé about the July dip brought about by record Cayenne Diesel sales a year ago. With 71,381 units sold in the first seven months, Porsche is 72.6 percent ahead of the same period of last year.