Porsche Aims Higher As They Consider Models Above The 911 And Cayenne

Disappointing sales in China, on which the brand had become overly dependent, and massive investments in EVs that too few people wanted—that, in a nutshell, is what went wrong at Porsche. The lion’s share of the R&D budget was wasted on cars that suddenly turned out not to be the market leaders, while the cars that were, as a result of that choice, received too little attention.

Porsche has had a new CEO, Michael Leiters, since October. Leiters is tasked with turning the tide at the German sports car manufacturer and is now demonstrating that he’s not afraid to take drastic action. “We’re using the current challenges as an opportunity to take even more decisive action. We’re going to comprehensively reposition Porsche, make the company more efficient and faster, and make our products even more desirable.”

The “more efficient and faster” goal is to be achieved, among other things, by streamlining the management structure, eliminating organizational layers, and reducing bureaucracy. Furthermore, Porsche wants to focus more on its core business, so we can perhaps expect fewer merchandise-like byproducts in the near future.

Porsche’s repositioning seems to primarily mean expansion at the top end. Higher segments offer higher margins, so the brand is looking at cars above the 911 and above the Cayenne. This all fits into what Porsche calls “value over volume”: preferring higher margins with fewer, more exclusive cars, rather than becoming a glorified mass brand with cheaper models and large volumes. Fueled by financial problems, these could well be interesting times for Porsche enthusiasts. After all, a model above the 911 can only be a true supercar or hypercar, while a model above the already brutal and large Cayenne also captures the imagination. Rumors about the arrival of such a flagship SUV have been circulating for a long time, so don’t be surprised if such a model actually arrives.

• Read More: Porsche Begins Production Of The Cayenne EV