Porsche, following Audi, Mercedes-Benz, GM, Ford and a number of other Western automobile companies, admitted that its previous expectations for regarding electric vehicles turned out to be overestimated and now it is necessary to extend the life cycle of key “hydrocarbon” models.
The global slowdown in demand for electric vehicles that began last year has also reached Porsche: sales of the recently updated Taycan family in the first half of this year, according to the company itself, decreased by 51% (compared to sales in January-June 2023) to 8,838 units. Overall, global Porsche sales in the first half of 2024 dropped by 7% to 155,945 units. This is the first noticeable reduction since the COVID-19 pandemic. The brand's bestseller at the moment is the Cayenne crossover: in the first half of the year it sold 54,587 units. (+16%).
Updated Porsche Taycan
Porsche management explains the collapse of the Taycan due to shift changes — they say that many customers were simply waiting for the updated model, but in fact, the German press wrote at the end of last year that Porsche dealers were having difficulties selling the Taycan and were not meeting the KPI set by the manufacturer, that is, a long waiting list for the updated model there wasn't and there isn't. In addition, some customers were taken away from the Taycan by the second-generation Macan mid-size crossover — it is offered only with electric powertrains, “hydrocarbon” versions are not provided in principle.
New Porsche Macan
The first-generation petrol Macan has already left Europe along with the Porsche 718 family of mid-engined sports cars due to non-compliance with new cybersecurity rules, but production of these models for other markets is still ongoing. The new generation of the Porsche 718 will go on sale next year and will be fully electric — so it’s no wonder that sales of the current Porsche 718 in the first half of this year increased by 8% to 11,886 units. — customers disassemble the latest gasoline units for themselves and/or for further resale.
Third generation Porsche Panamera
The next generation Porsche Cayenne should also become fully electric — it was expected that it would debut in the second half of the current decade and replace the current third-generation “hydrocarbon” crossover, which was restyled last year. Now the German publications Automobilwoche and Süddeutsche Zeitung, citing Porsche representatives, report that the “third” Cayenne will be delayed in production and will be sold in parallel with the electric successor. The development of the Panamera family will follow the same scenario: the current third “hydrocarbon” generation will coexist with a completely new electric model with the same name.
Updated third-generation Porsche Cayenne
Thus, Porsche will not be able to fulfill the commitment it made five years ago to make 80% of its sales volume electric vehicles by 2030. It was then assumed that after 2030, only the iconic Porsche 911 family would retain internal combustion engines, and they would be adapted to synthetic carbon-neutral fuel. Unfortunately for eco-activists and to the delight of petrolheads, Porsche is forced to indefinitely extend the life of the internal combustion engine for the Cayenne and Panamera models — perhaps this decision will turn out to be a saving grace for the company after some time.