There’s a funny and misguided notion in much of the auto industry that any new electric vehicle is mostly just competing against other electric vehicles. It’s natural to want to compare a new model to the most similar model you can think of, but it’s misguided because, in many cases, new electric vehicle models are expanding the electric vehicle market.
With many new models — no matter the powertrain — buyers previously bought another model from the company. This is why “conquest sales” — pulling a buyer from another brand — is so important for automakers and dealers.
While most of the digital ink regarding the Porsche Taycan (and Mission E when it was called that) has been devoted to comparisons with the Tesla Model S, I think it really should have gone toward comparisons with other Porsche models.
New data show that the Porsche Taycan is now the top selling Porsche in Europe. Meanwhile, the 911 is down 37%, the 718 is down 5%, and the Panamera is down a whopping 71% and on the bottom of the sales ranking.
The Porsche Panamera is basically the gas powered Taycan
Really interesting how the Taycan becomes the best selling Porsche and the Panamera sales tank 71%
This is why they don't want to transition. It kills their sales.
Tesla killer? More like ICE killer. pic.twitter.com/kFAUXCjgm0
— Whole Mars Catalog (@WholeMarsBlog) September 26, 2020
Imagine if Porsche had an electric model to compete with the Macan and Cayenne.
Overall, Porsche seems to have climbed out of the covid hole, with sales up 2.6% in August 2020 versus August 2019, which is in contrast to the overall market being down 20%, according to Forococheselectricos. This growth is heavily on the back of the Taycan.
The Porsche Taycan’s 1,183 registrations were 23.4% of Porsche’s 5,046 overall sales. Indeed, the Taycan almost got as many sales as the 911 and Panamera combined. And why not? It is without a doubt a far superior vehicle in many objective regards as well as in nearly objective subjective matters.
So, while it is exceedingly clear the Taycan is not a “Tesla killer,” there’s a strong argument to make that it’s a fossil Porsche killers. Progress is underway. And very happy owners of the Taycan will surely lead to more sales.
But can you drive a Taycan across Europe? Of course you can. For more on how that goes, I recommend our recent four-part series about a Taycan trip from Poland to Portugal and back. Here are those articles:
- Driving The Porsche Taycan Across Europe
- In The European Charging Jungle With A Porsche Taycan
- Green & Electric Paris, With A Little Help From Poland
- Porsche Taycan: Matching Fossil-Fueled Vehicles On Long Journeys (Almost)
Top photo and featured photo courtesy of Wysokie Napięcie.
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