Porsche is stuck between a rock and a hard place. The world’s second-largest car market, the U.S., appears to be making a U-turn on EV adoption and wants new gas-powered vehicles. The world’s largest car market, China, demands the most advanced EV sports cars possible. Porsche is tumbling in both markets, with sales and its stock price taking a nosedive. Now, heads are rolling.
The German luxury automaker embraced electrification head-on. Its Taycan remains one of the best all-around sports sedans in the U.S. market. But that hasn’t impressed buyers in China. The Xiaomi SU7 Ultra recently came to Porsche’s backyard and snatched the Nürburgring EV lap record from the Taycan Turbo GT. It’s no surprise many Chinese buyers have cooled on the once-prestigious luxury brand.
Couple that with an economic slowdown, and Porsche deliveries in China tumbled 26% last year.
Porsche is squeezed between EV demand and gas revival
In Europe, Porsche had to phase out certain combustion-powered models that failed to meet new cybersecurity standards. Management blamed supply gaps for disrupting deliveries of the 718 and Macan. Porsche’s heavy focus on EV technology has also slowed redesigns of internal combustion sports cars, which are now back in vogue in the U.S.
Tariffs in the U.S. have further hurt German automakers across the board.
All told, Porsche delivered just 279,449 vehicles in 2025. That’s 10% fewer than in 2024. Investors noticed. The company’s stock is down more than 30% year over year.
Porsche responded by naming a new CEO, Michael Lesters, effective Jan. 1. Now the question is which market Porsche will bet its future on: the U.S. or China.
The automaker went public in 2022. Read why devolving into another Ferrari may be killing Porsche.
