acf domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home/ecg/ecgassociationdev/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6121Automotive News Europe — 2026-03-11
Automotive Industry
Porsche paid €700 million ($811.4 million) in tariffs last year to export cars from Europe to the U.S. and expects similar costs in 2026, pushing the automaker to investigate production in the U.S. despite large investment requirements, new CEO Michael Leiters said.
Production ”in the United States looks compelling, but it’s a huge investment,” Leiters said on the company’s annual results call March 11. “We are looking at it.”
Porsche last year denied reports that it was exploring U.S. production.
The tariff burden threatens Porsche’s profitability in its largest market just as Chinese sales are collapsing.
U.S. production also would align Porsche with rivals BMW and Mercedes-Benz, which already build SUVs in the U.S.
Porsche’s Cayenne large SUV is built in Bratislava, Slovakia, and the Macan midsize SUV is built in Leipzig, Germany.
The move, however, will requires billions in capital for an automaker that had its profit margin collapse to 1.1 percent in 2025 from 14.1 percent in 2024.
“This is much more complicated than people normally think, because it’s not only about the factory and the location. It’s also about the supply chain,” Leiters said.
Leiters on Jan. 1 succeeded Oliver Blume, who remains CEO at Porsche’s parent, Volkswagen Group.
In 2025, Porsche delivered 86,229 cars in North America, which represented 31 percent of its global total of 279,449. In 2024, North America accounted for 28 percent of the Porsche’s worldwide deliveries with a volume of 86,229.
Broken down further, Porsche sold 76,219 cars and trucks in the U.S. last year, up from 76,167 in 2024, according to the Automotive News Research & Data Center.
The U.S.’s importance has increased as Porsche struggles to compete with domestic rivals in China, where its 2025 sales slumped 26 percent to 41,938 cars.
Porsche has increased U.S. prices multiple times to compensate for the tariffs, which the Trump administration increased to 15 percent from 2.5 percent for cars imported from the European Union.
Despite the price increases, Porsche reported “solid” demand for products in the country. “We currently see stable market development,” Porsche CFO Jochen Breckner said on the call.
VW Group’s Audi brand has halted plans for a U.S. production site because of the tariffs.
Blume reiterated his concern on March 10 during VW Group’s annual press conference. “We need to find compensation for the tariffs,” he said. “We cannot do both — pay high tariffs and then invest in a factory.”
Audi ships core models to the U.S., including the Q5 midsize SUV, from its factory in Mexico, which is also subject to tariffs.
Porsche is developing a replacement for the combustion-engine Macan based on Audi’s PPC platform, which underpins the Q5 and other models.
Overall, the VW Group paid €2.9 billion in U.S. tariffs over the final nine months of 2025. The company estimated that full-year cost of the tariffs would have been roughly €5 billion.
VW has a plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., where it builds the Atlas large crossover and ID4 electric compact crossover. Reduced volumes for the ID4 could potentially make space for Porsche products.
The VW Group is also building a facility in South Carolina to make cars for the Scout off-road brand, with the first deliveries expected in 2028.
Porsche has forecast a group operating profit margin in the 5.5 to 7.5 percent range in 2026. The operating margin shrank to 1.1 percent in 2025 from 14.1 percent in 2024 after the automaker wrote off planned investments in new electric models.