Porsche not planning to shift final assembly of cars to US

BERLIN (Reuters) -Porsche has no plans to shift any part of its production process to the U.S., a spokesperson said on Friday, dismissing a Bloomberg report saying the company was considering such a move to mitigate the effects of tariffs.

The luxury carmaker, like Volkswagen's Audi, does not produce vehicles in the U.S., leaving it heavily exposed to tariffs at a time when it faces the challenges of falling demand, fierce competition in China and slow uptake of its electric models.

Bloomberg, citing unnamed sources, reported on Friday that Porsche CEO Oliver Blume, who also leads the wider Volkswagen Group, was considering moving the final stages of model assembly, such as the installation of interior components or fitting of tires to the United States.

A spokesperson for the carmaker said no such plans were in place.

Porsche's finance chief Jochen Breckner said in late April that localisation made no sense given its low vehicle sales, even if the group were to team up with another VW brand.

Volkswagen's Audi brand plans to produce its best-selling models in the U.S. and will announce a location this year, although the brand has said that the plan pre-dates the Trump administration.

Blume said last week that he had engaged in discussions with Washington to expand the Volkswagen Group's presence in the United States through "massive investments", but declined to provide details, citing confidentiality.

(Reporting by Victoria Waldersee in Berlin, Gnaneshwar Rajan in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Louise Heavens)

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