Porsche waters down EV ambitions

PORSCHE is the latest VW Group company to start backpedalling on its ambitious EV transition only a short time after its first fully electric SUV, the new generation Macan, arrived on the market.

In a media statement, the German sports car specialist announced it had lowered its EV target stating the transition will take “years”, and warning that EV goals are too ambitious as customers remain reticent to make the switch away from traditional powertrains.

Porsche said sales of BEVs in key markets including Europe lacked momentum and were lower than expected. The famed German manufacturer adding that the transition to electric vehicles will take longer than first thought.

Reported in publication Automotive New Europe (ANE), Porsche said its previous aim was for 80 per cent of its vehicle sales to be all-electric by 2030, but that target is no longer the company’s concrete goal.

The iconic manufacturer is reportedly tying the 80 per cent goal to customer demand and developments in the electro-mobility sector.

“Porsche can only deliver on the 80 per cent target if those factors warrant it. The transition to electric cars is taking longer than we thought five years ago,” said Porsche in a statement.

“Our product strategy is set up such that we could deliver over 80 per cent of our vehicles as all electric in 2030, dependent on customer demand and the development of electro-mobility.”

Spurred by the ‘Dieselgate’ scandal of 2015, Porsche parent Volkswagen Group has been a forthright proponent of transitioning to electric vehicles, with several brands targeting fully electric line-ups in a decade or less – Audi and Bentley being at the forefront – and others going majority electric.

However, reality set in last year as sales of EVs softened in Europe and the US, but continue to power on in China where “cheap”, locally-built EVs are sold with government subsidies.

Porsche’s EV reset follows other VW Group news along similar lines with Audi only last week proposing to drop production of its flagship Q8 e-tron due to poor sales.

With initial EV sales aspirations seemingly under review across the whole VW Group (and elsewhere), a new focus appears to be on hybrid powertrains of varying configuration including HEVs and PHEVs that have started building sales momentum in European markets of late.

An increasing number of hybrid powered models are appearing in Volkswagen Group brand portfolios potentially alluding to a new direction for the financially teetering company.

And over in the US, something similar is unfolding with hybrids expected to gain a greater foothold as manufacturers plan to build petrol/electric powertrains adding to their current and future portfolios of ICE and BEV powered vehicles.

The poor forecasting is broadly apparent with executives at automakers from Mercedes-Benz to Renault already warning that goals they set in recent years for full-electric sales in the next decade were too ambitious as customers remained reticent to make the switch away from combustion-engine cars.

ANE says Porsche highlighted the disparity in its three key markets in EV uptake, with demand far ahead in China, slower in Europe and spotty in the US.

“German automakers are particularly exposed to China, where a slowing economy is weighing on buying and local drivers gravitate to cheaper, locally made EVs. Luxury electric models have not been selling well in the world’s biggest auto market,” it reported.

In its statement, Porsche said, “Our double strategy is more important than ever”, referring to its continued development of both combustion engine and electrified cars the company emphasising its flexibility to deal with fluctuating demand.

Its Leipzig (Germany) plant is capable of producing combustion engine, plug-in hybrid and fully electric cars on one production line.