Porsche has no plans to build vehicles in the United States, its finance chief said, declining to follow Audi’s lead with a major new factory in Georgia. Jochen Breckner, Porsche’s CFO, cited low production volumes as the main reason the sports car brand will keep manufacturing in Europe and shipping to American dealers. Days after Audi committed $4 billion to a new Georgia factory, Porsche’s finance chief made clear the sports car brand is not following.
Tariff Costs Drive Strategy
Breckner explained that Porsche’s limited output makes it impractical to split production between Europe and the U.S. The brand’s entire U.S. lineup, including the Cayenne, is built in Europe and subject to a 15 percent import tariff, on top of the standard 2.5 percent base rate. More From Porsche: Porsche Is Building 15 One-Offs, Including A $15 Million Car Porsche Builds A Rare 911 GT3 To Celebrate 75 Years In Britain This Custom Gunther Werks Porsche Is An 860-HP Tribute To A Racing Legend Porsche Won’t Build An Electric Supercar Because ‘There Is No Demand’
“We would still have engines and other parts that we would need to export into the United States,” Breckner said, highlighting the dense European supplier network that Porsche’s low-volume models rely on. Moving final assembly to the U.S. would not eliminate these additional costs. Porsche’s rationale runs in the opposite direction compared with Audi’s approach.
Porsche expects tariff-related expenses to reach the high hundreds of millions of euros in 2026, following roughly €500 million in costs over the first nine months of 2025. The company is not counting on relief from Washington, basing its business model on the assumption that the 15 percent tariffs will remain in place.
Audi Bets on Scale
Audi‘s Georgia plant, set to begin production in 2031, is designed for high-volume output of 200,000 SUVs annually and will create about 4,500 jobs. This approach aligns with the brand’s larger sales figures, which justify a dedicated American manufacturing line. Audi’s Georgia Factory Targets 200,000 SUVs 2027 Audi Q9 Photo by: Audi
By contrast, Porsche’s third-quarter operating profit was €387 million, a sharp improvement from a €967 million loss a year earlier. However, quarterly revenue still fell 7.5 percent to €8 billion, with declining sales in China continuing to weigh on performance.
Recovery Plan Relies on New Models
Deliveries dropped 16 percent in the first nine months of 2026 to 178,532 units. Rather than pursue a U.S. factory, Porsche is focusing on an upcoming combustion-engine compact SUV in 2028, positioned as a successor to the current gas-powered Macan.
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