The Taycan, Porsche’s answer to the Tesla dominated luxury electric vehicles (EV) market is finally becoming a reality. With over four years of development, the first Taycan cars are expected to be in the hands of customers early in 2020. With a sleek looking exterior and elegant interior, the Porsche Taycan will surely catch the eyes of many EV enthusiasts that are in the market for a luxury electric vehicle. The Taycan Turbo S boasts a range of 450 kilometres, with a 0-100 acceleration of 2.6 seconds. It comes equipped with a 93kWh battery, has 620 horsepower and weighs just over 2,300kg. The car comes in a four-seat configuration with a large touchpad centre console and electronic speed dials. All these specifications sound great on paper, but reading these left me asking two questions; for who is this EV designed for and why are the technical specifications worse than a Tesla Model S? (Burns, 2019)
To attempt to answer the first question, customers who typically buy Porsche cars, buy them as their “second car” after already owning a “utility car”. This is true apart from the Cayenne, Macan and Panamera models which are large enough to function as a utility car. However, the Taycan is smaller than these aforementioned models and larger than Porsche’s other sports cars, leaving it in an awkward “middle-ground”. Would customers buy the Taycan as their utility car or a sports car?
In terms of technical specifications, Tesla’s Model S beats the Taycan in almost every category. It has faster acceleration, more range and horsepower, which is very surprising considering Porsche’s history of making very fast, high-quality cars. In my opinion, Porsche missed the mark here in conceding to Tesla on specifications. Similar to the 918 Spyder, which is the fastest stock car in production, the Taycan could have been faster than the Tesla, which could have made a statement in the EV market. No one willing to spend $185,000 wants to be in the second-fastest car on the road. (Templeton, 2019)
References
Burns, M. (2019). Porsche Taycan vs Tesla Model S: Spec for spec, price for price – TechCrunch. [online] TechCrunch. Available at: https://techcrunch.com/2019/09/04/porsche-taycan-vs-tesla-model-s-spec-for-spec-price-for-price/ [Accessed 2 Oct. 2019].
Templeton, B. (2019). New $104K Porsche Taycan Looks Nice But Is No ‘Tesla Killer’. [online] Forbes.com. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/bradtempleton/2019/10/14/new-104k-porsche-taycan-looks-nice-but-is-no-tesla-killer/#37a52fe71454 [Accessed 2 Oct. 2019].
Hey Ilari!
Nice blog post, even for a car ignorant like me. I really like how you explained the characteristics of the car and the target group based on the functionality of the car.
But this all leaves me thinking of what the Taycan means for Porsche from a brand perspective. Why would a “fast car for regular people” car brand create a car that (1) is not as fast as the other Porches (2) and EV? Where is the consistency in this? I understand that they want to tap into the EV segment, but why do it with a car that is not that aligned with the rest of models? Why not make the current models (already fast), EV? I think customers would rather pay that amount of money for a Tesla, which is not perceived as a “fast car” per se, but is still faster than the Taycan.
Anyways, that k you for your post!
Ilari, interesting read and thanks for sharing! It indeed does seem a bit disappointing, not only in comparison to Tesla, but also for the high standards Porsche has always wielded. Then again, a Porsche seems to be a “nice-to-have” product. Consider the non-electric cars they designed, especially the 911’s, these are also not the fastest cars in the world, yet people still buy them. People still spend ridiculous amounts of money on them and seem to be satisfied with the fact that it is not the fastest car out there. Same would go for the electric version then, right? If people want to buy a Porsche as a second, third, or forth car, then they might want to buy an electric one, either way, they won’t be the fastest on the road. From a different standpoint, I’m not surprised Porsche is underperforming the high expectations Tesla set. Tesla is entirely focused on electric vehicles, whereas Porsche has only recently decided to shift its focus towards designing and releasing such cars. With practice comes perfect, and especially German car manufacturers have shown a strong improvement in quality and reliability over time, so I expect nothing else from Porsche’s electric vehicles. It’s a beginning, and I strongly believe in the fact that you can never start at the top.