Sharp drop in operating profit forces German carmaker to lay off more than 500 employees and focus on core sports car business
Porsche has announced the definitive closure of Porsche eBike Performance GmbH, its division dedicated to the development and marketing of propulsion systems for high-performance e-bicycles. The decision also puts an end to the trajectory of the engine manufacturer Fazua under the control of the Stuttgart group, four years after the start of investments in the area.
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The restructuring directly impacts around 360 employees distributed across the Ottobrunn units in Germany and Zagreb in Croatia. In total, the cuts exceed 500 jobs in Europe, considering the simultaneous closure of subsidiaries Cellforce Group, focused on battery cells, and Cetitec, of the connectivity software division.
The withdrawal from the micromobility market responds to a severe deterioration in Porsche’s financial results. In the balance sheet for the fiscal year 2025, Porsche’s operating profit contracted by 92.7%, shrinking from €5.637 billion (about R$31.6 billion) to €413 million (R$2.3 billion), which reduced the group’s operating margin to just 1.1%.
The retraction is explained by the slowdown in sales in China and global tariff barriers, factors added to bottlenecks in the electrification of its car fleet. With the underwhelming commercial performance of major models such as the electric Macan, Chief Executive Michael Leiters opted to suspend industrial diversification plans to focus resources on sports car development and protect the company’s cash.
The decision ends the brand’s intentions to consolidate itself as a global supplier of two-wheel motors and ends the development partnership with the Dutch holding company Pon. Despite this, Fazua’s technical legacy is significant in the light eBike segment, where the Ride 60 system remained one of the main references in compact assistance.
To mitigate the impact on the market, Fazua assured in a statement that technical support and the supply of spare parts will be maintained in the long term through official distributors. Despite the commitment to continued service, analysts in the bicycle sector warn that models equipped with the system should face a strong devaluation in the resale market.
