Porsche waters down EV ambitions, says transition will take 'years' | Hacker News Reader

Porsche waters down EV ambitions, says transition will take 'years'

reuters.com

> as customers remained reticent to make the switch away from gas-powered cars.

I find this disingenuous. I think a lot of customer would gladly switch if there was anything electric and remotely affordable.

I think the taycan is overpriced and underperforms. I wondered why people bought them. But maybe it is that porsche does the sports in sports car well. It still has dials, gauges and buttons, and works well with the driver. For people who like to drive, porsche gives you control, gives you an experience and is a good match.

Now the tesla plaid costs less and is quicker. Specs put it miles above other cars. But tesla has been turning its back on the customers. This is a car for people who like to drive, yet tesla has designed it for someone who doesn't mind not controlling their car. not only no gearshift, but it guesses what gear. No stalks. no buttons (except for the silly ones on the steering wheel that turn)

Don't know the actual demographic of these cars. I remember reading decades ago that most corvettes come with automatic transmissions, so maybe people don't want to drive their sports cars.

Don't think the corvette is a good example on that front, look into MT stats for something like the MX-5.

EDIT: which I didn't manage to find

I just replaced our Leaf with a GMW Ora (chinese hatchback EV). Its not perfect, but its very good for the money (400km range). Can't see myself buying another Petrol vehicle; Tried the BYD Dolphin as well, but much preferred the Ora's ergonomics and cabin space. These cars are around $23k USD new.

(review) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZgR1pz3nEA

I guess affordable cars aren't the main point of Porsche.

Do you own one?

Well ffs when a new Taycan costs equivalent to 3 Tesla Model S, then you're bound to be on the losing end of the EV race.

Pity, because driving a Taycan is actually a great experience.

A gt3 is also the cost of 3x 5-series. Porsche isn’t exactly trying to compete with Tesla on price.

But if they want to drive mass adoption for their brand at scale (i.e. comparable to ICE Porsche levels) they really need to provide a competitive offering for the Model 3 and not the Model S. Remember, their target was 80% of sales from EVs.

Huh? What do you mean "mass adoption"? Porsche sold 75k TOTAL cars in 2023. They have never, in their entire history, been a mass producer of vehicles.

Tesla sold 232k Model 3s in 2023. Porsche has absolutely no desire to compete against the Model 3, they are a premium brand. Volkswagen is the competitor to the Model 3 and Model Y. Even the S and X only compete with Porsche if you squint really hard. Porsche fit and finish runs circles around anything Tesla has to offer, and on a road track the Taycan destroys the S.

https://www.autoblog.com/2024/01/02/new-taycan-variant-becom...

A new Tacan also charges at half the speed of a Chinese minivan.

https://evkx.net/models/li_auto/mega/mega/chargingcurve/

https://evkx.net/models/porsche/taycan/taycan/chargingcurve/

Or 1.74x faster than a Model S Plaid:

https://evkx.net/models/tesla/model_s/model_s_plaid/charging...

Or 1.89x faster than a Model 3 Performance:

https://evkx.net/models/tesla/model_3/model_3_performance/ch...

But neither of those would be convenient stats to pull out when trying to attack the Taycan, right?

Or as fast as Kia EV6, Porsche waters down EV ambitions as it doesn't have competitive vehicles.

I will bear that in mind if I'm ever cross-shopping the Taycan and a "Chinese minivan"

You will better cross shop Taycan with a Kia as these are at similar level of battery technology.

Edit: Model 3, not Model S

an EV doesnt make half the noise of a Porsche ... its obvious their clients dont want to switch, how are they going to draw attention?

I know a bunch of Sheikhs who personally chose the Taycan over the Tesla as their first EV. Even fitted their garages with custom chargers for them because at the time, Taycans did not have suitable charging stations in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

The low-end torque is exhilarating.

Bye, bye, Porsche.

Porsche please hurt yourself very badly because all drivers of your cars over here are assholes.

Incumbents have little incentive to lose their profit margins which not only include the profit margins of the initial purchase, but also its long-term maintenance and repair profit margins. Electric vehicles save buyers something like 40% of maintenance costs, which the dealer/automanufacturer lose out on. So no wonder Incumbent combustion car manufacturers charge exorbitant prices for their electric versions, and claim the "transition will take years".

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