The automaker is accelerating its electrification strategy, even while facing serious headwinds this year.
- Porsche plans to bring battery-electric 718 to market in 2025, after introducing an electric Macan with the model’s next redesign.
- The automaker plans for plug-in hybrids or EVs to account for half of its sales by 2025, and to reach 80% by 2030. In Europe, 40% of all Porsches delivered in 2021 were either plug-in hybrids or EVs.
- Porsche plans to develop its own exclusive charging network in Europe, similar to Tesla’s Supercharger network, just for Porsche owners.
You may have seen a Taycan or four in traffic by now, but you’re probably still not ready to picture Porsche with electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles accounting for 80% of its annual production. That’s exactly what the automaker revealed a few days ago, aiming for that target by 2030. And the Taycan is just the tip of the iceberg.
Porsche announced this and much more during its annual meeting last week, detailing its electromobility strategy.
For starters, the automaker confirmed it will produce an electric version of the 718, in addition to an all-electric Macan. The Taycan already accounts for a significant percentage of Porsche sales, with the automaker indicating it delivered 41,296 Taycans in 2021, eclipsing the 911’s 38,464 deliveries.
“The Taycan is 100% a Porsche and inspires all kinds of people—existing and new customers, experts, and the trade media,” said Oliver Blume, chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche AG. “We are stepping up our electric offensive with another model: By the middle of the decade, we want to offer our mid-engine 718 sports car exclusively in an all-electric form.”
When will we see the electric 718?
We expect the model to debut by the middle of the decade, once the current 718 product cycle ends. 2025 should be the year the compact two-door model will arrive in battery-electric form, with the Macan EV due much sooner, in late 2023 or early 2024.
Porsche introduced a GTS Sport Turismo version of the Taycan in 2021.
Porsche
In Europe, 40% of all Porsche models delivered in 2021 were either plug-in hybrids or EVs. That’s a significant indicator even at this early stage of electrification for the company, and it also reflects the EV boom that western Europe has experienced over the past two years.
Oliver Blume expects that percentage to increase by the middle of the decade, and not just in Europe.
“In 2025, half of all new Porsche sales are expected to come from the sale of electric vehicles—i.e. all-electric or plug-in hybrid,” Blume added. “In 2030, the share of all new vehicles with an all-electric drive should be more than 80%.”
Porsche also announced plans to build its own charging network, rather than continuing to rely on third-party stations in Europe, featuring chargers open only to Porsche owners. For the moment these plans are expected to only concern Europe, where the Volkswagen Group has explored building a network of upscale charging hubs, while in the US this audience has been served by Electrify America stations, which are a fully owned subsidiary of Volkswagen AG.
The electric Mission R is an experimental customer motorsport vehicle, but it’s also a distant preview of a roadgoing two-door electric model.
Porsche
What these EV stations could look like has already been previewed by another Volkswagen AG brand, when Audi opened its pilot charging hub in Germany earlier this year. The automaker intends to open a second one later this year, but it’s not clear just yet if all hubs will feature a similar footprint and amenities.
However, in the near future Porsche faces a number of headwinds, the latest of which included production halts that affected all new models currently being assembled, sparked by supplier shutdowns as a result of the war in Ukraine.
“We have challenging months ahead of us, both economically and politically, but we are nevertheless sticking to our strategic goal, which has been firmly anchored for years, of ensuring an operating return on sales of at least 15% in the long term,” said CFO Lutz Meschke.
The automaker faces a few difficult months as it deals with supply chain issues prompted by the war, as does its parent company, with the automaker issuing a note of caution for the rest of the year when it comes to production capacity, which had already taken a hit with the fire on board Felicity Ace.
“Porsche is looking at the armed conflict in Ukraine with great concern and dismay,” Blume added. “We continue to hope for a cessation of hostilities and a return to diplomacy. The safety and integrity of the people are paramount.”
Keyword: Porsche Plans Electric 718 and Macan