Porsche Taycan production to start on September 9 at new factory

After a launch earlier this week, Porsche confirmed that the production of the Taycan will start on September 9 at its new factory.

On Wednesday, Porsche unveiled the two higher-end versions of the Taycan, Turbo and Turbo S, with plans to release them around the world in the coming months.

The vehicle is not only a significant program for Porsche due to the fact that it is its first all-electric car, but it is also important because they added a lot of production capacity in order to support the vehicle.

Over the last four years, they built a new plant at their Zuffenhausen site in order to build the Taycan. It includes a body shop, a paint shop, a plant for the production of electric motors and components, a vehicle assembly hall, and the connecting transport technology.

Albrecht Reimold, Member of the Executive Board for Production and Logistics at Porsche AG, commented on the new plant:

The new plant reflects the brand’s tradition and sends out a clear signal about the future of Porsche. It was a deliberate decision to build the Taycan in Zuffenhausen – the home of the brand’s heart and soul.

He added:

We’ve built a factory inside a factory — in the middle of the city and close to our neighbours, in the most confined of spaces, in the shortest possible time and without disrupting the existing sports car production facility running at full capacity. Now the factory has been completed on schedule and without any major setbacks. This was possible due to meticulous planning and an excellent team. Close dialogue with our neighbors was also crucial. We kept them fully up to date on developments throughout the entire course of the project.

Porsche is now set to start production of the Taycan next week and ramp up production to a capacity of 20,000 to 40,000 units annually depending on demand.

Deliveries are expected first in European markets, and the vehicle should hit the North American market early next year.

Electrek’s Take

After the launch this week, I am starting to think that the original 20,000 units per week target is more realistic than the more recent 40,000 units number that has been thrown around.

Most people seem to still be impressed by the vehicle. There’s the inevitable spec comparison with Tesla Model S, which is obviously not making the Taycan look good, but there’s more than specs.

The car looks stunning, and Porsche’s biggest point has also been driving pleasure, which remains to be verified.

However, I think the price is the biggest issue. The few reservation holders I talked to following the announcement were surprised by it.

They knew that Porsche would first launch the higher-end versions of the car, but they still thought it would be closer to $150,000 fully equipped.

Instead, it is starting at $150,000 and going up to $200,000.

I still think that there’s going to be significant demand for the car, but a target closer to 20,000 units per year is more reasonable.

To be fair, that’s still a major vehicle program for a relatively small automaker like Porsche.