Porsche will end Taycan production by 2030, claims a German media report. The cancellation is interesting in the light of an interview just last month where the Porsche CEO said the model isn’t going anywhere.
The Taycan is Porsche’s first EV, a four-door sport sedan originally unveiled in 2019. Since then, it has gradually grown to have many variants and racked up several performance records.
When the Taycan was first introduced, sales were coming along quite well. But they have steadily gone down since then.
Part of this is due to the introduction of new models – as Porsche’s first EV, any EV buyers would go straight to the Taycan. But now that the Macan EV is out, and is selling like gangbusters, EV buyers have somewhere else to go.
Further, given so many buyers, especially in the higher echelons of income, seem to be moving towards giant SUVs, a sport sedan is not the highest-demand segment out there right now (even if it is much better for performance because an SUV is not a sportscar and will never be a sportscar).
Porsche has introduced several new Taycan variants over time, each stimulating a little more demand from another market segment. And the model has been steadily improved with new model years, but has retained the same basic design as when it first rolled out.
There are big changes coming for 2027, including a new E-shift feature intended to make the Taycan feel and sound more like a manual transmission internal combustion vehicle (I don’t get it, but if it gets people in the door, so be it).
There have however been rumors that Taycan’s sales numbers were not enough to keep the model around, but as recently as last month, Porsche’s CEO Michael Leiters said “We do not plan to discontinue the Taycan in the short term. We have invested a lot in the model and want to observe how demand develops.“
It looks like we now know how long “short term” is, according to a new report.
According to German outlet WirtschaftsWoche, Porsche’s works council agreed in principle with management to phase out production of the model by 2030. The agreement has not yet been put into writing, though.
WirtschaftsWoche said that other options had been considered, including moving Taycan production to a different plant. But the final decision was made to eventually cancel the model.
We reached out to a Porsche spokesperson, who declined to comment on the report. We’ve seen Porsche change its mind before, so take this as an initial report, rather than written in stone.
The cancellation of this model seems sudden in the face of last month’s CEO comment, which sounded like Porsche has more ideas it wants to try with the Taycan.
In that same interview, Leiters said that the Porsche 718 EV was back on the menu, after rumors of its cancellation.
Porsche shares platforms with its sibling company, Audi, both of which are under VW Group. The Taycan shares a platform with the Audi e-tron GT, and the 718 will share a platform with the upcoming Audi TT.
Even when there were rumors of the 718 being cancelled, Audi said it was going through with the TT – which was likely part of Porsche’s consideration to bring the 718 to market.
As for what will happen to the e-tron GT if the Taycan is cancelled, we’ll have to follow up about that.
Charge your electric vehicle at home using rooftop solar panels. Find a reliable and competitively priced solar installer near you on EnergySage, for free. They have pre-vetted installers competing for your business, ensuring high-quality solutions and 20-30% savings. It’s free, with no sales calls until you choose an installer. Compare personalized solar quotes online and receive guidance from unbiased Energy Advisers. Get started here. – ad*
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Comments