{"id":119700,"date":"2026-03-11T20:25:01","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T23:25:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automotive.einnews.com\/article\/898813657"},"modified":"2026-03-11T20:25:01","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T23:25:01","slug":"porsche-ceo-michael-leiters-looks-to-high-margin-911-to-revive-ailing-carmaker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/2026\/03\/11\/porsche-ceo-michael-leiters-looks-to-high-margin-911-to-revive-ailing-carmaker\/","title":{"rendered":"Porsche CEO Michael Leiters looks to high-margin 911 to revive ailing carmaker"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Porsche\u2019s new CEO announced plans on Wednesday to draw on high-margin sports cars, such as the iconic 911, to recoup losses from a turbulent 2025 marked by tariff costs, electrification missteps, and the collapse of its sales in China.<\/p>\n

In his debut earnings report since taking the helm in January, new CEO Michael Leiters<\/a> gave the first hints of his plan to revive the struggling Volkswagen subsidiary, pledging a shift to higher-margin products and intensified cost cuts.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can well imagine that over the past 70 days or so, I\u2019ve worked hard with my team to delve into every detail of our strengths and weaknesses,\u201d Leiters told investors, after the company reported a 93% slump in operating profit in 2025.<\/p>\n

The initial strategy, to be \u201cpursued with urgency as the next few months unfold\u201d, will target a simplified model lineup while assessing options priced above two-door sporty models, such as the 911 and 718 and the Cayenne SUV, where personalised features can boost margins further.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to be leaner, that\u2019s for sure. We are not looking at volume,\u201d Leiters said.<\/p>\n

Porsche today offers a six\u2011model global lineup, covering everything from the entry-point compact Macan SUVs to high-performance sports cars and EVs.<\/p>\n

\n

Globally Porsche delivered 10% fewer cars in 2025, with declines across all regions except the US, where they stagnated<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This includes China, once a highly profitable market for Porsche but where sales plunged by more than a quarter in 2025 as local rivals, such as BYD and Xiaomi, built their market share with more affordable, tech-driven luxury SUVs.<\/p>\n

Porsche\u2019s new CEO said the Chinese market still offered potential in a shrinking market for combustion engines but stressed that the carmaker would not compete in the EV market, where a brutal price war continues.<\/p>\n

Globally Porsche delivered 10% fewer cars in 2025, with declines across all regions except the US, where they stagnated.<\/p>\n

Porsche forecasts a modest recovery in its group operating return on sales in the range of 5.5% to 7.5% in 2026, after it collapsed to 1.1% in 2025 from 14.1% a year before.<\/p>\n

The company cut its proposed dividend for the past year to \u20ac1 per ordinary share and \u20ac1.01 per preferred share, after earnings were hit by \u20ac3.9bn (R73.94bn) in extraordinary charges. These included about \u20ac2.4bn in charges from a strategic pivot away from electric cars, as well as about \u20ac700m in tariff costs.<\/p>\n

The strategic reversal was announced by Leiters\u2019 predecessor Oliver Blume before his departure. Blume, who remains CEO of Volkswagen, already negotiated almost 4,000 job cuts at Porsche, with a second package of planned measures falling on Leiters, who said this initial reduction was \u201cnot sufficient\u201d.<\/p>\n

Leiters, who built his early career at Porsche before stints as Ferrari\u2019s chief technology officer and CEO of McLaren, promised further details on his strategy later in the year.<\/p>\n

Reuters<\/b><\/p>\n

\n

<\/a><\/strong> <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

… combustion engines but stressed that the carmaker<\/span> would not compete in the EV …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-119700","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119700","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119700"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119700\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}