Porsche has presented a recovery plan following a serious sales decline in 2025. The new CEO, Michael Leiters, aims to make the brand more agile and faster. The strategy includes adding models with higher profitability and extending the life of hybrids with internal combustion engines.
Recovery plan after a difficult year
Porsche has introduced a recovery plan following a challenging period, aimed at optimizing operations and reducing costs to regain financial stability. Under the leadership of new CEO Michael Leiters, a former top executive at McLaren and Ferrari, the company hopes to restore its reputation as a powerful profit generator, transforming into what Leiters calls a “more agile, faster, and even more desirable” brand. He took over the company at the beginning of this year, replacing Oliver Blume.
Difficult financial results
The reboot comes against the backdrop of tough financial results. Porsche’s operating profit fell by 92.7% from 5.64 billion euros in 2024 to just 413 million euros in 2025. Revenue also shrank by 9.5% to 36.27 billion euros. The operating return on sales contracted to a meager 1.1%, and global deliveries dropped to 279,449 units, down 10.1%.
This result was influenced by a combination of several factors. Porsche booked 3.1 billion euros in one-time restructuring costs, absorbed 700 million euros related to U.S. tariffs, and faced a sharp 26% sales decline in China.
Porsche CFO Dr. Jochen Breckner stated: “Global challenges and the company’s realignment impacted profit in 2025. In 2026, our calibration measures will continue to have a one-time impact on profit in the high three-digit million euro range. To ensure adequate Porsche-standard margins in the medium term and strengthen our long-term resilience, we are accepting this burden.”
Directions for solving problems
During Porsche’s annual press conference in Stuttgart, Leiters acknowledged that the plan to return to growth is still being formulated. As the new management has only passed its first 100 days, he admitted that the company does not yet have “an answer to every question or a solution for every problem.” Nevertheless, he used the event to outline the direction in which he intends to steer Porsche.
“We will simplify our management structure, reduce hierarchies, and cut bureaucracy. We have also already started to focus more on our core business. We are using the current challenges as an opportunity to act even more decisively. We are comprehensively realigning Porsche, making the company more agile, faster, and the products even more desirable.”
Porsche also plans significant changes in China, where the company intends to reduce its dealer network from 150 sales outlets to just 80 by the end of 2026 to protect pricing policy.
Expanding the model range
To stem the losses, Leiters is looking up the market ladder. One of the first steps will be simplifying Porsche’s product portfolio by reducing complexity and the number of variants. According to the CEO, the changes will focus on models with weak demand, likely pointing to the Taycan. Despite this, Porsche states it plans to introduce “emotional new derivatives” of certain models as early as this year, though it does not specify exactly which ones.
At the same time, the Porsche executive confirmed that the company is developing new models aimed directly at segments with higher profitability.
“We stand for uncompromisingly good sports cars that you want to drive yourself, that bring joy, convey performance and passion. And all this regardless of the type of powertrain,” said Leiters. “We are considering expanding our product portfolio to grow in segments with higher margins. In doing so, we are considering models and derivatives both above our current two-door sports cars and above the Cayenne.”
Porsche’s next halo car?
The mention of two-door sports cars clearly points to the 911. What could be positioned above it is less clear. Leiters did not go into details, but possibilities range from a modern interpretation of the 928 to something much more exotic, such as a supercar or even a flagship hypercar.
Porsche has been exploring this territory for years, seeking potential successors to the 918 Spyder. The Mission X concept hinted at one possible direction before enthusiasm for electric hypercars waned.
Another confirmed project is the long-rumored three-row SUV flagship positioned above the Cayenne. Under the codename K1, it is expected to target markets like the USA and the Middle East and may offer V6 or V8 powertrains.
The new offerings will benefit from expanded “high-margin customization programs” that will “further strengthen the brand’s exclusivity,” helping it move into new territory closer to brands like Ferrari and Lamborghini.
Extending the life of ICE and reevaluating electric vehicles
Leiters acknowledged that Porsche needs to rethink what he called “the right drive technology.” The early momentum created by the all-electric Taycan has met a harsher reality as regulatory requirements, demand patterns, and customer expectations have changed in recent years. Slower-than-expected demand has forced the company to “adjust the ramp-up and portfolio of fully electric vehicles, while simultaneously extending the life of internal combustion engine and hybrid offerings.”
The ultimate goal is to reduce primary and direct costs through a “fundamental rethinking of how we develop our sports cars.” In the process, Leiters effectively confirmed previous reports that the next generation of the 718 series will take a multi-energy path. Porsche also plans to “utilize further synergies between our models,” using platforms and industry solutions more flexibly.
The presented Porsche recovery plan indicates a profound transformation that will affect all aspects of the business: from the management structure to the product strategy. The emphasis on higher-margin models and exclusivity is a logical response to financial pressure and competition from other premium brands. The decision to extend the life of hybrid technologies while adjusting the electric strategy reflects a broader trend in the automotive industry towards a more flexible and pragmatic approach to decarbonization. The success of this plan will depend not only on internal cost-cutting efforts but also on the brand’s ability to once again capture the imagination of customers in key regions like China and offer truly innovative products in new segments for itself.