Porsche Admits It Was Very Wrong
Like many others, Porsche is revising its electrification strategy after slower-than-expected EV adoption and shifting market conditions have gutted the company's financial performance.
Key Points
- Porsche is scaling back its EV targets, acknowledging that its goal of 80 percent fully electric sales by 2030 is no longer realistic due to slower market adoption.
- Hybrid models will become a larger part of Porsche’s lineup, with combustion and electric versions of models like the Panamera and Cayenne expected to coexist well into the next decade.
- The company is restructuring around a lower annual sales target of 250,000 vehicles, citing declining demand in key markets and a strategic shift toward profitability over volume.
Speaking at the company’s annual shareholder meeting, CEO Oliver Blume said the original target of having more than 80 percent of Porsche’s sales be battery-electric by 2030 is no longer realistic. Instead, the automaker will focus more heavily on hybrid models while continuing to develop and sell battery-electric vehicles.
"Our goal was to deliver more than 80% fully electric sports cars by 2030. One of the most ambitious goals in the entire industry," Blume said in his prepared remarks. "Our product strategy would still allow us to achieve this. In view of market developments, it is not realistic. Our BEV ramp-up will therefore adapt flexibly. To demand and market developments."
Ok Ollie.
Moving forward, Porsche will take a mixed approach. Electric and combustion variants of the Panamera and Cayenne will coexist into the 2030s. The all-electric 718 remains on track— albeit delayed— but the pace of the company’s battery-electric rollout will adjust to better match actual consumer demand.
"After a strong start-up phase, it has now become clear that we were a step ahead of market developments," Blume said. "The comprehensive and above all sustainable ramp-up has not yet materialized. The transition phase will probably be much longer than originally thought. That's why we're continuing to take a balanced approach: Combustion engines, hybrids, and electric sports cars."
Despite delivering over 300,000 vehicles last year, Porsche is reorganizing itself around a smaller sales target of 250,000 units annually. Blume said the company is shifting toward a “value over volume” approach, focusing on margins rather than growth.
“In the future, Porsche will continue to rely on a balanced mix of types of drive systems. Our customers will be able to choose between combustion engines, hybrids and all-electric drives in every vehicle segment well into the 2030s.”
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An experienced automotive storyteller and accomplished photographer known for engaging and insightful content. Michael also brings a wealth of technical knowledge—he was part of the Ford GT program at Multimatic, oversaw a fleet of Audi TCR race cars, ziptied Lamborghini Super Trofeo cars back together, been over the wall during the Rolex 24, and worked in the intense world of IndyCar.
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I know Porsche needed volume to survive, but there are so many on the road today that the attraction for me has fallen dramatically. Still love driving my 911 Turbo Cab but driving the 911 in the 1980s and 1990s was like a family affair. Then you have the god awful 996 too.
Porsche wasn't the only ones that were wrong. Almost the whole industry jumped the gun on EVs without keeping customer acceptance rate in mind.