- Porsche appears open to building vehicles in the United States.
- This comes after Trump’s tariffs cost them $810 million last year.
- CEO says idea is “compelling,” but requires “huge investment.”
Porsche had a terrible 2025 as revenues and profits plunged, underscoring a challenging year for the German automaker. In fact, the company reported earnings of just €413 ($478) million last year.
Part of the disappointing result can be chalked up to approximately €700 ($810) million spent on US tariffs. That’s a ton of money and Porsche CEO Michael Leiters said, “market conditions in the United States have … changed as a result of tariff policies.”
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Tariffs have resulted in a series of hefty price hikes and the 911 now starts at $135,500. That compares to $114,400 in March of 2024, which is a $21,100 increase in less than two years.
Despite the sizable increases, Leiters told investors “demand remains solid and we currently see stable market development.” However, it appears Porsche is fed up with tariffs and is thinking about doing something about them.
During the question and answer session, Leiters was asked about the possibility of establishing a knock down plant in the United States – similar to their one in Kulim, Malaysia – or partnering with Volkswagen to build vehicles in America.
The executive responded by saying the idea is “compelling, but it’s a huge investment.” He also said it would take a lot of time and they’d need to establish a new supply chain to support an American factory.
Leiters returned to this later as he suggested a new plant is “not on the table” right now. He went on to say it’s “much more complicated than people normally think, because it’s not only about the factory and where is the factory. It’s also about the supply chain.”
While the plant looks like a no-go at the moment, officials confirmed plans to unveil “emotive new derivatives” later this year. However, they’re also looking to trim the lineup as the “large number of derivatives have significantly increased complexity, both from the customer perspective and internally.”
This will push the company to “streamline our future product portfolio and reduce complexity and variance.” Officials didn’t go into specifics, but previous reports have suggested the Panamera and Taycan could eventually merge into one model.
Source: Porsche, Auto News
