Porsche swings to bear almost $1.5b loss after EV pullback
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Porsche has struggled of late, with waning enthusiasm for electric vehicles and supply chain bottlenecks exacerbating weak sales in China and US import tariffs.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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- Porsche faced its first quarterly loss (€966 million) due to delayed EV plans, scrapped battery program, and China demand slump.
- US tariffs cost Porsche €700 million this year, prompting price increases; a new SUV range will offer combustion and hybrid options.
- Porsche expects a turnaround by 2025, with restructuring led by Michael Leiters; the US is now Porsche's biggest market.
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STUTTGART – Porsche suffered its first quarterly loss as a listed company, with the luxury car manufacturer taking a €3.1 billion (S$4.7 billion) hit in 2025 from scaling back its electric ambitions and US tariffs.
The 911 maker reported a €966 million operating loss in the three months through September, after delaying some of its electric vehicle (EV) plans and scrapping a programme to build its own batteries. Slumping demand in China has also taken a toll.
Porsche has struggled of late, with waning enthusiasm for EVs and supply chain bottlenecks exacerbating weak sales in China and US import tariffs. The poor performance saw the stock drop out of Germany’s benchmark DAX index.
The company cut its guidance in September for the fourth time in 2025, a move that also hit parent Volkswagen.
The company is banking on a return to form starting from 2026.
“We expect 2025 to be the trough,” chief financial officer Jochen Breckner said.
Porsche’s third-quarter revenue dipped to €8.7 billion.
US tariffs will cost the company roughly €700 million in 2025, Dr Breckner said on a call with analysts.
The company is planning more price increases in the country to mitigate the extra costs, he added.
Porsche’s third-quarter loss is not as bad as expected, according to Citi analysts led by Mr Harald Hendrikse, who suggested the company could improve returns from 2026.
The underlying margin was close to 10 per cent, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Michael Dean.
Porsche’s struggles have forced it to take drastic measures.
Among changes to its EV plans, a new range of sport utility vehicles (SUVs) positioned above the Cayenne that was going to be exclusively electric
The automaker has also swopped out the majority of its board members and is trying to push through more cost cuts.
Chief executive Oliver Blume will in January 2026 be handing the torch of those restructuring efforts to Dr Michael Leiters, a former Porsche executive who previously ran British supercar maker McLaren Automotive.
Dr Leiters’ experience in SUVs – he previously worked on the top-selling Macan and Cayenne models – could prove valuable as Porsche pushes to develop a replacement for the combustion engine Macan, which is being phased out in 2026.
Porsche’s SUV strategy will play a key role in the company’s success in the US, which recently overtook China to become its biggest market.
The company’s lack of production there means it has to import all its cars from Europe, leaving it to shoulder 15 per cent tariffs under President Donald Trump’s policy changes.
Porsche has reviewed the possibility of assembling one of its own models in the US, Bloomberg previously reported. BLOOMBERG
