Porsche Remembers Its Initial Electric Vehicle: “Timing Wasn’t Ideal”

It’s difficult to realise that Porsche unveiled the Mission E concept more than ten years ago. At the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2015, the business gave its first hint that it may eventually join the EV market. The production-ready Taycan debuted at the same show four years later. The company’s CEO now believes the car may have been introduced too soon after it debuted over seven years ago.

The leaders of Germany’s leading automakers, including Volkswagen Group, Audi, Mercedes, BMW, and Porsche, participated in a panel discussion hosted by the German magazine Auto Motor und Sport. During the conversation, the topic of electrification unavoidably came up, and the guy in command in Zuffenhausen considered the timing of the Taycan.

In retrospect, Michael Leiters thinks Porsche was “perhaps too hasty to embrace electric mobility”, implying that the Taycan was introduced before people could fully realise its potential. He continued by saying that the corporation saw itself as a “pioneer in e-mobility” for introducing the electric car at the end of 2019.

Sales Of the Taycan Are Declining

Taycan sales haven’t been great over the last few years, as the figures demonstrate. Furthermore, 2026 doesn’t appear to be getting any better. Just 3,420 of Porsche’s first electric vehicles were delivered in the first quarter, a 19% decrease. Conversely, the electric Macan is doing significantly better; through March, shipments reached 8,079 crossovers.

Despite not being sold in Europe since mid-2024 due to noncompliance with an EU cybersecurity requirement, the gasoline-powered vehicle is still the more popular of the two Macans, with 10,130 units shipped.

Porsche Will Keep Investing In EVs

Porsche’s CEO declared during the panel that the company will keep making investments in electric vehicles. Electric versions of the Boxster and Cayman are still planned, as was previously disclosed. EV versions are still planned, but the three-row SUV above the Cayenne will debut initially with combustion engines and hybrid drivetrains.

Notably, just a few weeks after the Mission E concept was introduced in the autumn of 2015, Oliver Blume, the CEO of the Volkswagen Group, who was seated two chairs away, was named CEO of Porsche. Blume was replaced as Porsche’s senior executive at the beginning of 2026 by Michael Leiters, a former Ferrari CTO and McLaren CEO.

Porsche Is Dedicated To Petrol Engines

In other parts of the lineup, an Audi Q5-derived replacement with a different name is scheduled for release in 2028, while the first-generation Macan will cease production this summer. Both gasoline and plug-in hybrid versions will be available, and they will continue to be available in the Panamera and Cayenne ranges well into the 2030s.

Furthermore, the combustion-engine 718 sports car pair will make a comeback following the end of production in late 2018. Regarding the 911, it has already undergone hybridisation; nonetheless, Porsche will not pursue further electrification. A pure EV was ruled out by Leiters. Instead, to comply with ever-tougher emissions standards, Zuffenhausen hopes to ensure the car’s future with cleaner combustion engines and hybrid technology.

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