Porsche CEO says Volkswagen ties ‘should play a role’ amid U.S. tariff threat

Porsche on Wednesday reported an annual drop in operating profit to 5.6 billion euros ($6.1 billion) in 2024, down from 7.28 billion euros in the previous year. Group sales revenue dipped 1% to 40.1 billion euros.

The company blamed a tense market situation in China, supply chains disruptions and a delay in the global ramp-up of electromobility for the weaker performance as it held its dividend steady.

It also announced further job cuts that will take its workforce reduction to nearly 4,000 as it looks to reduce costs amid market uncertainty.

Blume told CNBC it was an “intense, challenging, but also successful” year, with a plunge in China sales and a slower-than-expected ramp-up of electric mobility in Europe and North America remained key issues.

Discussing the latter trend, Blume said Porsche would continue to invest in innovation, while calling for industry, communities and politicians to support the EV transition through developing charging infrastructure.

He also said that the company’s strategy in China, Porsche’s second-biggest market, was to prioritize value over volumes, showcasing the quality of its vehicles and focusing on standing out in areas such as in-car intelligence.

“In China, we have faced a pricing war, a discount war, and we are not joining this,” he said.

Competition from Chinese competitors, particularly in the EV market from the likes of BYD, is presenting a challenge for automakers around the world.