Like a lot of automakers, Porsche made an aggressive push towards EVs. Its initial plan was for 80 percent of its sales to be fully electric by 2030, but at its annual shareholder meeting Wednesday, CEO Oliver Blume said that’s not going to happen, though not for lack of trying. So now, it’s putting more emphasis on hybrid options, while still continuing to expand its range of EVs.
“Our goal was to deliver more than 80% fully electric sports cars by 2030. One of the most ambitious goals in the entire industry,” Blume said in prepared remarks. “Our product strategy would still allow us to
achieve this. In view of market developments, it is not realistic. Our BEV ramp-up will therefore adapt flexibly. To demand and market developments.”
Customers haven’t taken to electric Porsches like the brand once hoped. Taycan sales fell globally last year, which Porsche said was at least in part due to a heavy refresh for the model, but also because the “ramp-up of electric mobility is generally proceeding more slowly than planned.”
Photo by: Chris Perkins / Motor1
It’s probably too early to render a definitive verdict on the new all-electric Macan, because the company is still selling the internal-combustion model in some markets until next year. But, Blume said in his remarks that “[i]n the SUV segment, we are examining a new model series. It could come onto the market towards the end of the decade—also with combustion and hybrid drive.”
Whether that’s the long mooted three-row, or something smaller to sit closer to the Macan EV is unclear. But in any case, Porsche will do a lot more hybrids. As previously announced, Blume said that combustion and EV versions of the Panamera and Cayenne will live alongside one another into the 2030s. And the company is full steam ahead with the electric 718.
“After a strong start-up phase, it has now become clear that we were a step ahead of market developments,” Blume said. “The comprehensive and above all sustainable ramp-up has not yet materialized. The transition phase will probably be much longer than originally thought. That’s why we’re continuing to take a balanced approach: Combustion engines, hybrids and electric sports cars.”
The company is currently in a tricky situation. In China, sales have fallen precipitously as customers there move away from Western cars, and in the US, it’s particularly exposed to tariffs as one of the few companies that doesn’t build anything it sells here. And in Europe, there’s a lot of regulatory uncertainty on top of the slower-than-anticipated EV growth.
While Porsche sold over 300,000 cars last year, Blume said it’s now restructuring the company around a target of 250,000 annual sales. Which means cutting workforce, as previously announced, and trying to emphasize “value over volume,” as Blume put it. In other words, make more money selling fewer cars. And a lot more of them will be hybrids.
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