Ferdinand Porsche founded the company as "Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche GmbH" in 1931 alongside Adolf Rosenberger and Anton Piëch. The name derives from Ferdinand Porsche's full German title, Doktor-Ingenieur honoris causa. The main offices were at Kronenstraße 24 in central Stuttgart. Initially the company offered motor vehicle development and consulting rather than building cars under its own name. One of its first assignments was from the German government to design a car for the people; this resulted in the Volkswagen Beetle.
During World War II, Ferdinand Porsche was arrested for war crimes at the end of 1945. His son Ferry Porsche steered the company through this period and began building his own car. The first models of what became the Porsche 356 were built in a small sawmill in Gmünd, Austria; the 356 was road-certified in 1948. Production was later taken over by Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche GmbH in Stuttgart, with Zuffenhausen-based coachbuilder Reutter Karosserie commissioned to produce the steel body.
In 1964 Porsche launched the Porsche 911, an air-cooled rear-engined sports car with a six-cylinder boxer engine. The body design team was led by Ferdinand Alexander Porsche (F. A.), Ferry Porsche's eldest son. The designated project number 901 had to be changed to 911 because it contravened Peugeot's trademarks on all x0x names; racing models continued with the correct numbering sequence: 904, 906, 908.
In 1972 the company's legal form changed from Kommanditgesellschaft (KG) to Aktiengesellschaft (AG). This led to the departure of family members from operational roles, including F. A. Porsche and Ferdinand Piëch. F. A. Porsche subsequently founded Porsche Design. Ferdinand Piëch, who had been responsible for mechanical development of production and racing cars including the 911, 908, and 917, eventually became chairman of Volkswagen Group.
Porsche holds a record 19 outright wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In 2006 the company built 195 race cars for international motorsport events; in 2007 it was expected to construct no fewer than 275, comprising 7 RS Spyder LMP2 prototypes, 37 GT2-spec 911 GT3-RSRs, and 231 911 GT3 Cup vehicles. Porsche describes itself as the world's largest race car manufacturer.
Porsche's relationship with Volkswagen dates to the design of the original Beetle. In 1969 the two companies collaborated to produce the VW-Porsche 914 and 914-6. Further collaboration in 1976 produced the Porsche 924, which used many Audi components and was built at Audi's Neckarsulm factory. The Porsche Cayenne, introduced in 2002, shares its chassis with the Volkswagen Touareg and the Audi Q7.
In June 2007 Porsche SE was created by renaming the old Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG. In August 2009 Porsche SE and Volkswagen AG agreed that their car manufacturing operations would merge to form an Integrated Automotive Group. By end of 2015, Porsche SE held a 52.2% controlling interest in Volkswagen AG, which in turn controlled Volkswagen, Audi, SEAT, Škoda, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche AG, Ducati, and others.
The headquarters and main factory are located in Zuffenhausen, Stuttgart, where Porsche produces flat-6 and V8 engines. Cayenne and Panamera models are manufactured in Leipzig; Boxster and Cayman production was outsourced to Valmet Automotive in Finland from 1997 to 2011 before returning to Germany. Since 2011 the Zuffenhausen plant area more than doubled from 284,000 m² to 614,000 m². On 11 May 2017 Porsche built the one-millionth 911.
Of 321,321 vehicles produced in 2022: 41,947 were 911s, 18,080 were 718 Boxster and Cayman, 91,117 were Macan, 98,113 were Cayenne, 35,241 were Panamera, and 36,823 were Taycan. Of 302,750 vehicles produced in 2024: 49,095 were 911s, 23,790 were 718 Boxster and Cayman, 84,330 were Macan, 93,864 were Cayenne, 30,369 were Panamera, and 21,302 were Taycan.
Porsche's operating profit in 2025 collapsed by roughly 98%, falling from approximately €5.3 billion in 2024 to €90 million, producing an operating margin of 0.3% against 14.5% in 2024. Global sales fell 11.2% from 310,718 in 2024 to 279,449 in 2025. Contributing factors included a €3.9 billion restructuring charge from reversing investment in electric vehicle research and production, a roughly 26% decline in Chinese sales in 2025 (following a roughly 28% decline in 2024), and increased US tariffs.
This article is based solely on the supplied corpus. No external sources were consulted; claims that could not be substantiated against the corpus were omitted under the drop-the-claim rule.
Gallery · 4 related images
