German luxury carmaker faces 10% drop in global deliveries amid weak China demand and regulatory challenges in Europe.
19 Jan 2026 | 502 Views | By Shristi Ohri
German sports car manufacturer Porsche experienced its worst annual sales performance in 16 years, according to Reuters, delivering 279,449 vehicles in 2025—a 10% decline compared to 2024.
The luxury automaker, a Volkswagen subsidiary, joins fellow German manufacturers Audi and Mercedes-Benz in grappling with challenging market conditions, particularly in China ...
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German sports car manufacturer Porsche experienced its worst annual sales performance in 16 years, according to Reuters, delivering 279,449 vehicles in 2025—a 10% decline compared to 2024.
The luxury automaker, a Volkswagen subsidiary, joins fellow German manufacturers Audi and Mercedes-Benz in grappling with challenging market conditions, particularly in China where Porsche sales plummeted 26%. Reuters reports the company attributed this sharp decline to difficult conditions in the luxury segment and intensifying competition in the electric vehicle market, prompting the carmaker to reduce its dealer network in the region.
Porsche underperformed competitors BMW and Mercedes in China, whose sales fell 12.5% and 19% respectively in 2025, according to the report.
European markets also proved challenging for Porsche. Reuters states that sales dropped 16% in Germany and 13% across the rest of Europe, largely due to supply gaps for the 718 and Macan combustion engine models. These shortages resulted from EU cybersecurity regulations that took effect in July 2024, requiring manufacturers to adapt their software security systems.
European autos market analyst Matthias Schmidt told Reuters that the new regulations rendered the combustion engine version of the best-selling Macan unavailable in 2025, creating an unfavorable year-over-year comparison.
North America provided the only bright spot for Porsche, with sales remaining flat while German competitors Mercedes and Audi saw 12% declines. Schmidt suggested to Reuters that Porsche "likely benefited from a pull-forward of inventory registrations across the US to mitigate against tariffs."
Reuters reports that anticipated U.S. tariffs were expected to cost Porsche approximately 700 million euros in 2025. Like Audi, Porsche lacks U.S. production facilities, leaving it vulnerable to tariff impacts.
The company's strategic pivot away from all-electric vehicles toward more profitable combustion engine models, while delaying some EV launches, cost 1.8 billion euros in earnings last year, Reuters states. Despite this shift, fully electric models represented 22.2% of worldwide deliveries in 2025, with plug-in hybrids accounting for 12.1%—placing the electric vehicle share at the upper end of Porsche's stated 20% to 22% target range.
Following the sales data release, Porsche shares fell 1.3%, according to Reuters.
The 2025 performance marks Porsche's steepest decline since 2009, when the global economic crisis triggered a 24% year-over-year sales slump.