Porsche’s profit margin plunges to 1.1% — so it’s slashing model variants

Porsche’s newly installed CEO Michael Leiters has unveiled Strategy 2035, a sweeping turnaround plan aimed at restoring the brand’s profit margins after they collapsed to just 1.1% in 2024. Leiters, who took the helm on January 1, argues that Porsche’s future hinges on fewer variants, leaner operations, and a renewed focus on core sports-car DNA rather than chasing sales volume. The strategy is built on three pillars: Brand and Customer, Products and Technology, and Company and Operations, with the overarching goal of sustainable profitability and resilience.

Leiters insists Porsche will no longer chase volume for volume’s sake, emphasizing that customers should buy a Porsche because they genuinely want the car, not because of lease deals. The brand also plans to reinvent its ‘Made in Germany’ identity to reinforce its premium cachet. On the product front, Leiters admits Porsche’s lineup has become overly complex and promises to reduce the number of variants, including the recent discontinuation of Taycan wagons in the United States.

The 911 will remain a combustion-powered icon, with Porsche doubling down on hybrid technology—starting with the performance hybrid system introduced on the GTS and later expanded to the Turbo—as a key strategy to keep the model relevant. While Porsche is pushing its Cayenne Electric as a cornerstone of its EV ambitions, the nearly finalized electric Boxster and Cayman remain unmentioned in the strategy. The third pillar focuses on internal restructuring, including deeper platform sharing within the Volkswagen Group, workforce reductions, and broader cost-cutting measures.

Leiters and Chairman of the Supervisory Board Dr. Wolfgang Porsche both stress that the announced streamlining is just the beginning, warning that further belt-tightening—some of it uncomfortable—will be necessary to steer the company back to profitability.