Production in the USA: Sports car manufacturer sees “no immediate need”

Stuttgart. German sports car manufacturer Porsche has temporarily rejected car production in the USA. Despite the increased export costs due to US tariffs, the company is very satisfied with the current origin of its vehicles, North America CEO Timo Resch told the Handelsblatt newspaper. "Therefore, there are no immediate or concrete plans to enter local production."

When asked about other options, such as production at an existing plant of a VW subsidiary or final assembly of finished parts in the USA, Resch said: "From our perspective, Porsche has no concrete plans and no immediate need for either." This is also due to the fact that Porsche's production volumes are significantly lower than those of Audi, for example. "This is another reason why local production doesn't make sense from a cost perspective at the current stage."

The tariffs on car imports imposed by US President Donald Trump are making the sale of German cars in the US significantly more expensive for manufacturers. An outdated tariff rate of 27.5 percent is still in effect. However, it is set to be reduced retroactively to 15 percent as of August 1 – still higher than before the trade conflict. Resch did not specify how much the tariffs would cost automakers, but said it would be "a significant amount."

Industry experts expect German car manufacturers to relocate production to the USA in the medium term.

RND/dpa