Including financial services, Porsche achieved a result of 413 million euros in 2025 with models such as the 911, Cayenne, or Panamera, compared to 5.6 billion euros the year before. The margin eroded to 0.3 percent, after Porsche was previously the most profitable German manufacturer with around 15 percent. The situation turned out even worse than analysts had expected. In the year of its IPO in 2022, Porsche still shone with a record return of 18 percent. Last year, the carmaker, a favorite company of the billionaire VW owner families Porsche and Piech, lost significant trust in the financial market with four profit warnings. Ingo Speich, Head of Sustainability at the fund company Deka Investment, now expects Leiters to focus on savings. "We would like clarity on his strategy as soon as possible."
LUXURY MARKET UNDER PRESSURE
A large part of the problems, however, stems from factors beyond the company's control, to which Porsche can only adapt. "Reasons for the decline are a fundamentally changed market environment in China, US tariffs, the slower ramp-up of electromobility, and associated one-off and special effects," the VW Group explained regarding its "Sport Luxury" segment, which consists solely of Porsche. The Stuttgart-based carmaker was able to partially offset the burdens through the savings program already initiated. Under the leadership of VW CEO Oliver Blume, who recently stepped down from his dual role as head of both VW and Porsche, Porsche had launched a cost-cutting program involving the reduction of nearly 4,000 jobs. Further cuts are expected to follow, with negotiations already underway with the works council.
Porsche will publish details of the bleak balance sheet on Wednesday. Investors are eagerly awaiting the outlook that Leiters will provide during his first appearance as the new CEO. However, analysts do not expect a sophisticated strategy until later in the year at a Capital Markets Day. Leiters reportedly intends to streamline the management structure to enable faster decision-making. The manager, who previously worked at McLaren and Ferrari, will place a stronger emphasis on models with internal combustion engines, such as the iconic 911. Due to insufficient demand for electric cars among sports car fans, Porsche plans to shift its focus back toward models with combustion engines. The carmaker intends to maintain a multi-track approach to powertrains well into the 2030s, offering gasoline engines, plug-in hybrids, and pure electric vehicles.
The biggest flashpoint is China: Porsche's deliveries to end customers there shrank by 26 percent last year to just under 41,000 vehicles – in 2021, the Swabian firm still sold nearly 100,000 cars in what was then its largest market. The luxury vehicle market has collapsed due to the weakening economy. Domestic manufacturers are also increasing competitive pressure with more affordable electric cars. The once-coveted Western brands are currently in less demand in China. Porsche's sales to dealerships shrank by 15 percent last year to 266,000. Revenue fell by almost ten percent to 36.3 billion euros, landing below the company's repeatedly lowered forecast range. For 2026, Porsche announced a further decline in sales at an analyst conference in late January, though the return is expected to recover to more than five percent.
(Report by Ilona Wissenbach and Rachel More, edited by Olaf Brenner. For inquiries, please contact the editorial management at frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com)
