The German performance cars giant is facing declined demand for its otherwise popular Taycan
Porsche is planning to even launch ICE avatars for its future EVs to stay accessible to a wider range of customers. This announcement comes after the German auto giant experienced low sales for Taycan. On the contrary, the sales of the 718 have surged. This is a clear indication that purists still are not convinced about the performance EVs. As a result, Porsche’s profit decreased 26.7% to €5.5 billion ($5.95 billion) in the first three quarters of 2024 vis-à-vis the same time period in 2023.
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Porsche EVs To Have ICE Versions
In a recent conference call, Porsche CFO Lutz Meschke, said, “A lot of customers in the premium and luxury segment are looking in the direction of combustion-engined cars, there’s a clear trend. We will refresh our combustion engine cars, including the Panamera and the Cayenne, and of course, we will continue to rely on plug-in hybrids.”
This is a clear indication that the combustion engine models will keep getting updates. Also, plug-in hybrids will play a crucial role in shaping the future automobile industry.
Addressing the ICE trims of future EVs specifically, Meschke remarked, “As for our electrified lineup, we are very flexible when it comes to our production footprint. We can produce combustion engines, plug-in hybrids and electrified cars in one production line in Leipzig. When it comes to research and development, you’ll see more flexibility in the upcoming years. We will develop new combustion-engined derivatives [of our EVs] in order to give the right answer to customer demand.”
Now, it will be immensely cost-intensive to reverse-engineer internal combustion engines from EVs and a lot of effort and innovation will be needed to implement it. We have seen carmakers convert their existing ICE cars to EVs. However, there are rare cases of the opposite. Perhaps, one car that comes to mind is Fiat 500e. However, to maintain the performance standards of Porsche will need extensive work as everything needs to be spot on. We know that Porsche is prepping the electric iterations of the Macan and 718 range. If need be, these would be the ones to get ICE variants.
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Learn Electric Cars Says
The current situation has been highly unpredictable for every carmaker on the planet. The market is not able to unanimously opt for a single route for the future. There are many reasons for this. However, at the crux of it, it is the consumers who will dictate terms. That is exactly what we are witnessing at the moment. Industry experts and car companies extrapolated the initial surge in EV demand to set ambitious targets.
Unfortunately, that initial excitement seems to have plateaued. Going forward, auto giants need to focus on affordability in order to bring the masses on board. Similarly, as far as the performance vehicles go, driving enthusiasts still believe that the feel of IC engines is nigh impossible to replicate. They feel like EVs don’t offer the same engaging experience. That is the reason for their reluctance to shift to EVs. Let us see how things pan out in times to come.