In a sign that drivers are increasingly embracing battery electric models, sales of the Porsche Taycan surpassed those of the company’s influential, high performance 911 series, according to numbers the company released Friday.
The Taycan is Porsche’s first battery electric vehicle, and was introduced in the fall of 2019. The company launched its 911 high-performance sports car in 1964.
According to AlixPartners research, electric vehicles represent about 2% of all vehicle sales worldwide today, and the firm predicts that share will rise to about 24% by 2030. Governments around the world are offering incentives for automakers to transition to all electric and hybrid electric vehicles.
According to the International Council on Clean Transportation, as of September this year, 16 national and sub-national governments had set targets to fully end the new sale or registration of internal combustion engine cars in the 2025 to 2040 time frame. That includes ten European countries, along with Canada, Costa Rica, Cape Verde, Singapore, and the states of California and New York.
Deliveries of the Taycan hit 28,640, and deliveries of the 911 sports car hit 27,972 during the same period.
The Taycan, a four-door, dual motor sports car, was seen as a high-priced competitor to Tesla’s newer Model S sedans at the time of its debut.
While Tesla does not break out deliveries by model, Elon Musk’s electric vehicle maker reported deliveries of approximately 13,180 Model S sedans and Model X sport utility vehicles in the first three quarters of 2021.
In July, Porsche issued a recall impacting about 43,000 Taycan vehicles after discovering a software problem that caused some Taycan engines to suddenly shut down. The company pushed a software update to fix the issue but owners had to take their cars to dealerships to get the fix rather than receiving an over-the-air software update.
Porsche executive Klaus Rechberger said no accidents were known to have occurred as a result of the issue.
In its statement on Friday, Porsche (which is part of the Volkswagen Group) also revealed its Cayenne series of mid-size, luxury crossover sport utility vehicles remained best-sellers for the company.
Cayenne deliveries hit 62,451 in the first three quarters of 2021, followed by the Macan which hit deliveries of 61,944 vehicles. Besides the fully electric Taycan, Porsche sells a number of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, but the company did not break out sales numbers for each model.
The entire auto industry has been impacted by semiconductor chip shortages and the ongoing pandemic this year.
In Porsche’s Friday statement to shareholders, Detlev von Platen, Member of the Executive Board for Sales and Marketing at Porsche AG was quoted as saying:
“The order books are nicely filled and are, in turn, filling us with optimism and enthusiasm as we approach the year-end rush. However, the coronavirus situation remains dynamic and we are facing challenges in sourcing semiconductors. For these reasons, we are keeping a very close eye on current developments to ensure that we can continue to react in a flexible manner.”
