Porsche’s EV strategy has failed and to ensure it survives it has confirmed key models like the 718 Boxster and Cayman will remain available with combustion engines.
We’re pretty modest at Ev Authority, but we’ll just say: We predicted this!
Meanwhile, other models including its flagship full-size ‘K1’ SUV will switch from pure-electric to petrol power.
Seeing its share price tumble by as much as 9.3 per cent, Porsche announced the bad news during a call to investors last week.
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CEO Oliver Blume had to admit the car-maker was staring down the barrel of a €1.8 billion ($A3.2b) hit to its profits, largely from swapping the almost finished K1 large SUV to a combustion-based powertrain.
Labelled as a “strategic realignment”, the Porsche’s boss went on to admit the car-maker would also be forced to refresh the current combustion and hybrid-powered Cayenne SUV and Panamera luxury saloon to keep them relevant “well into the 2030s”.
The next-gen replacement for the pioneering Taycan EV sedan and a future Panamera have also now been delayed “well into the 2030s” along with the new SSP Sport software-led architecture Porsche was developing to underpin them and K1.
“We have seen a clear drop in demand for exclusive battery-electric cars, and we are taking that into account,” Blume said.
Key to the U-turn is a dramatic drop in demand for Porsche models in China, the tariff war triggered by the US and the continued lack of support for EVs in almost all the markets the storied German performance specialist operates in.
Porsche had originally wagered that by 2030 that as much as 80 per cent of all its global sales would be electric cars.
As a result of all the upheaval and the failure of its grand EV plan, Blume told stakeholders on the call that net profit would be slashed by two per cent this year.
However, he said that growth would return in the “medium-term” when new products begin rolling off the production line. Blume is targeting profit margins back above 10 per cent.
Speaking of new models, next to arrive in Porsche’s line-up is the Cayenne Electric that will be based on the VW Group’s PPE platform that already underpins the Macan Electric and will now be sold alongside the combustion and hybrid version.
With many judging the Macan Electric as another high-profile miss-step, Porsche is now racing to develop a new mid-size plug-in hybrid under the M1 SUV codename.
Built to bring back those who have exited the brand because of the switch to EVs, the new mid-sizer will be closely-related to the current third-gen Audi Q5.
Based on the same PPC architecture, Blume said the new SUV has been readied in record time, with the firm slashing the usual period it takes to design, develop and engineer a car from five years to just three.
Much to the anger of purists, the new mid-size SUV will have a front-wheel drive-biased all-wheel drive system.
Meanwhile, the current 718 ICE Boxster roadster and Cayman coupe are expected to be reskinned with looks that will align it with the EV version due next year.
The good news for fans of the sublime Cayman or Boxster is Blume said ‘top’ versions of the current roadster and coupe would continue to be offered with combustion power.
That suggests variants such as the GTS powered by the car-maker’s existing 4.0-litre flat-six-cylinder engines that was only launched in 2020 will get the update treatment.
Behind the scenes, analysts suggest that to save itself Porsche will now focus its resources on high-margin combustion cars at the expense of its far newer, more advanced EVs.
Blume, perhaps unsurprisingly, is said to be facing pressure to quit with the board keen to install a new head to lead the brand’s revival.
