Porsche and the Volkswagen Group have broken ties and the sports brand is now looking for a new CEO, Oliver Blume (the current head of both Porsche and the entire VW Group) is no longer good enough for them.
It all comes from the investors, who have been criticizing for some time that double role linking him to Volkswagen Auto and Porsche. They say it is not working, and that having the same man at the head of two such different companies is a mistake, especially now that the results are not good and things are complicated on several fronts: electric cars, falling profits and loss of popularity in China.
The Porsche-Piëch family (the ones who really rule inside there) has already started moving to look for names. They are testing both internal and external profiles. If it goes ahead, it would be a historic change: Porsche and Volkswagen could start walking separately…
Blume no longer convinces
Oliver Blume has been at the head of Porsche since 2015. And in 2022 he was also given the wheel of Volkswagen, after Herbert Diess left. Since then he has tried to handle both at once, but the results have not convinced anyone. In 2024, Volkswagen saw its profits plummet 30%.
The shareholders are worried as is normal, a 30% drop is no small matter. They believe Volkswagen needs someone fully focused on saving the ship, while Porsche, which plays in another league, needs its own leadership to protect its image and its capacity to innovate.
Porsche wants to stay afloat
Porsche has always gone its own way, it has its own style, its own design approach, and a very particular way of positioning itself in the market, nothing to do with what VW sells. But in recent years, centralized decisions have conditioned many of its moves: from the transition to electric cars to pricing policies.
That is why looking for a new CEO is not just a matter of internal structure, they want to return to the market the way they have always done, with their rhythm, their policies and their way of understanding the world of cars. Do they want to advance in electrification? Probably, it is what is on the rise now, and they do not want anyone to stop them.
A European sector in trouble
All this must also be seen in the general context. European brands are not having a good time. Brussels is pressing with emissions, Chinese manufacturers are rising very fast with cheaper electric cars, and the United States has raised tariffs. All this complicates export and the purchase of new cars (especially because with so much technology they are increasingly expensive and salaries more precarious, inflation has not only hit the USA).
And now what?
If Porsche gets its own CEO, it does not completely break with Volkswagen, but it does change the dynamic. They still share shareholders, development platforms and many other things, but this would mark a new chapter. Porsche wants independence and more room to maneuver.
The future of Blume is up in the air. Some think he should stay only with Volkswagen to try to get it out of the slump. Others believe that leaving Porsche would be risky, because his management there has been good. In any case, the coming months will be busy.
Summary:
Porsche is looking for a new CEO
- Porsche wants to replace Oliver Blume
- Blume currently holds a double role
Pressure from investors
- Blume should focus only on solving Volkswagen’s problems
Shared problems, separate solutions
- Porsche and VW face similar challenges
It is questioned whether Porsche needs independent leadership to overcome them better.