Porsche Plans for Smaller Sales Base as Luxury Focus Drives Turnaround

Weissach, Germany — Porsche is reshaping its business around the expectation of lower future vehicle sales, with the German sports-car maker counting on more expensive, high-end models to help rebuild profitability.

The Volkswagen-owned automaker said its turnaround plan is intended to reduce its future break-even point to fewer than 200,000 vehicles. Porsche delivered 279,449 vehicles in 2025.

The company has been contending with weaker demand and rising costs, while global deliveries have declined by almost 10% since 2022. China has become a particularly challenging market, while U.S. tariffs have added pressure in two of Porsche’s key markets.

At a capital markets day held at the company’s development center in Weissach, CEO Michael Leiters outlined a strategy centered on increasing the value of Porsche’s most sought-after vehicles.

The 911 and other premium sports cars are expected to be at the heart of that effort. Porsche wants to raise the selling prices of its top 10,000 vehicles as it seeks to strengthen the brand’s appeal.

Leiters said Porsche aims to solidify its standing as the world’s most desirable sports-car manufacturer, drawing comparisons with luxury brands including Ferrari and Louis Vuitton.

The strategy is intended to reverse a steep decline in profitability. Porsche has established a long-term goal of achieving a 15% group operating margin, while its medium-term target, covering roughly five years, is between 10% and 15%.

Those goals would represent a major improvement from the company’s operating margin of just 1.1% last year. Porsche’s margin had previously reached the high teens before the company went public four years ago under Oliver Blume, who continues to serve as Volkswagen’s CEO.

Investors reacted favorably to the plans, sending Porsche shares 3.2% higher following the announcement.

Reducing expenses will be a major component of the restructuring. Porsche plans to eliminate 9,000 positions by 2035, equivalent to one-fifth of its workforce. The company is also already pursuing a separate initiative to reduce management positions by 40%.

The automaker plans to cut development and sales costs while making greater use of shared platforms with Volkswagen’s Audi brand.

The changes come as German carmakers face increasing competition from lower-cost Chinese manufacturers. Porsche is simultaneously dealing with weaker demand in several key regions.

Deliveries in China have fallen by more than half over the past four years. Sales have also declined in North America and across the Middle East, Africa and India region.

Leiters, who took over as Porsche CEO at the beginning of the year, said the company needs to become more flexible and efficient because future crises are difficult to anticipate.

Porsche’s new approach represents a shift toward accepting a smaller sales base than the company has historically pursued. Rather than depending mainly on increased vehicle volumes, the automaker is seeking to generate greater profitability from its most expensive models while reducing its underlying costs.

The success of the strategy will partly depend on whether luxury-vehicle demand remains resilient as Porsche confronts continued weakness in China, U.S. trade barriers and strong competition throughout the global automotive industry.