PORSCHE CONSIDERS PRODUCING VEHICLES IN AMERICA AFTER $811 MILLION TRUMP TARIFF HIT IN 2025

As President Donald Trump's trade war wages on, overseas-based automotive manufacturers with historically strong U.S. sales, like Porsche and Audi, are thinking twice about where they produce vehicles. And a new report from Automotive News citing the automaker's annual sales call suggests that Porsche is inching closer to starting Stateside production of at least some of its vehicle lines.

Porsche's new CEO, Michael Leiters, didn't outright say that the German automaker was planning U.S. production; instead, Leiters said that production "in the United States looks compelling, but it’s a huge investment." This tempered response reverses Porsche's previous position, as then-CEO Oliver Blume denied any interest in domestic production in June 2025. However, Porsche leadership appears open to altering its approach after paying $811.4 million in U.S. tariffs in 2025.

"We are looking at it," Leiters said of U.S. production during Porsche's annual results call on March 11. "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."

AN reports that Porsche's U.S. production would likely focus on high-volume models, such as Porsche's Cayenne and Macan lines. Notably, Mercedes-Benz and BMW currently build their most popular SUV offerings in the U.S. Porsche builds the Cayenne, of which it sold 20,314 units in the U.S. last year, in Bratislava, Slovakia, and the Macan, of which it sold 27,139 units domestically last year, in Leipzig, Germany. U.S. production of these SUVs would allow Porsche to skirt the 15 percent tariff.

The Stuttgart-based automaker is in a precarious financial situation, with profit margins plummeting to 1.1 percent in 2025 versus a 14.1 percent profit margin in 2024. Similarly, Porsche is facing revenue constraints on both ends of the world, as historically strong Chinese sales are collapsing. The North American market is a particularly important one for Porsche, representing 31 percent of its global deliveries in 2025 and 28 percent in 2024.

Such strong domestic sales mean Porsche may have to eat as much, if not more, tariff costs in 2026, all while Porsche now has to weigh the return on investment of bankrolling a U.S. factory. The German automaker has increased prices to make up for a portion of its tariff losses, but consistently raising MSRPs may not be sustainable long-term.

Other Volkswagen Group members are stuck in a similar predicament. Audi doesn't currently produce any models Stateside, though the automaker paused plans for U.S. production due to tariffs. Volkswagen's Chattanooga, Tennessee, plant has allowed the more pedestrian manufacturer to fare slightly better, though many of its models are still produced in Mexico, which is also subject to export tariffs. Overall, the Volkswagen Group paid over $3.34 billion in tariffs over the final nine months of 2025.

"We need to find compensation for the tariffs," Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blume said during VW's annual earnings call on March 10. "We cannot do both — pay high tariffs and then invest in a factory."

Logistically, Porsche could produce vehicles at Volkswagen's Tennessee plant, as the automaker scales back production of its ID.4 EV. Similarly, there are rumors of Scout, Volkswagen's incoming lifestyle SUV and pickup brand, and its South Carolina factory being co-opted for domestic Audi or Porsche production. Either way, Porsche is clearly weighing all of its options. even if it isn't ready to pull the trigger on U.S. production.

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2026-03-12T15:56:29Z