[opinion] - hmmm…VW/Audi/Porsche may be in trouble…

[daveo4EV]

https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/2026-lucid-gravity-grand-touring-first-test-review

the Gravity distinguishes itself with its striking handling balance, grip, and precise communication. It’s a strange world we live in when a nearly 6,100-pound SUV rotates reliably off throttle then transitions into controlled oversteer with more ease than some supercars

For perspective, Porsche’s smaller and 600-pound-lighter Macan Turbo Electric is quicker on the figure eight by 0.6 second. And so is the utterly unrewarding Mercedes-AMG EQE SUV, at 24.1 seconds. But despite its higher limits, even the Macan lacks the Gravity’s superb edge-of-grip balance.

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[Tooney]

Volkswagen skids into the red on $5.8 billion US tariff hit, Porsche woes

 

[Tooney]

Porsche SE explores investing in €6bn VW diesel engine unit

 

[chun]

Porsche really think the EU will bend its knee to it, and revert regulations, when BMW, Mercedes, Renault, Ferrari, Etc are pushing ahead with electrification.

One has to question if porsche is willingly wanting to put itself out of business

 

[daveo4EV]

Porsche really think the EU will bend its knee to it, and revert regulations, when BMW, Mercedes, Renault, Ferrari, Etc are pushing ahead with electrification.

One has to question if porsche is willingly wanting to put itself out of business

porsche is stuck behind a rock and hard place

they sell "emotion" and spent decades perfecting their watch-maker skills (reliable and near bullet proof 9,000 rpm flat-6's are master class in mechanical engineering and manufacturing - porsche is a leader world wide in this space etc…) - EV's have less opportunity for emotion - and Porsche can not charge a premium for a drive train that lacks an exhaust note and is actually slower than most $30k EV's off the lot…and squeezing out obvious incremental improvements and making 32 variations of the same core product but tweaking it ever so slightly to have market separation…

porsche problem is best stated by it's current outgoing CEO…

Porsche CEO Oliver Blume stated, "
Our business model that sustained us over many decades no longer is functioning today in its current form"

nothing about their current business model maps very well to EV's - and none of their core skills and advantages "matter" in the EV world - and where people "tolerate" their non-competitive offerings (digital) stick out like a sore thumb when over paying for an EV with no exhaust note…

their model that doesn't work is: Overcharge for a premium emotional product that leverage mechanical superiority to a degree no other maker cares to invest - Porsche makes a very very high quality mechanical watch - no other manufacturer makes a watch at scale that is as good as porsche and there are huge barriers to entry for anyone to compete with them on quality, price, scale, efficiency - none of those barriers exist for EV's - witness Chinese EV's "matching" porsche for 1/3rd the price…

Porsche has "no juice" in the EV world…and that's a huge problem for them!

it's not that there is no demand for EV's - that's a patently false statement and I wish Prosche would stop saying it - but I guess it goes down better than our products are overpriced and outmatched vs. competitors - there is no demand for _PORSCHE_ EV's - especially at the price point Porsche wants to charge…if they lowered the price of their EV's to be "competitive" they would under-cut their ICE products and over perform for the price point vs. their ICE watches…

couple that with their lack of technical sophistication in the digital arena and they are over charging for an underperforming product that beyond driving lacks competitive feature set…

the only thing wrong with Porsche's EV's is their price point…and that's the one thing Porsche can't compromise on…because it would unravel their entire business…

so go back to what Porsche knows how to do - raise the base price of all our 911's and make as many as we can to boost profitability and blame their lack of competitiveness on the "EV mandate"…and threaten the German govt. with lost income tax if they can't employee most of the nation…

VW/Audi/Porsche "failing" is a. HUGE problem for the German govt. and the general eco-system of employed people paying taxes vs. unemployed people receiving state benefits…someone's knee _IS_ going to bend - and like all forced limb bending it's going to be painful.

 

[Freeewilly]

Orange guy tariff definitely hurt the Porsche bottom line, but a second round of price hike in 4 months is their solution?

Tariffs to push Porsche to raise U.S. prices again - Automotive News

 

[chun]

VW/Audi/Porsche "failing" is a. HUGE problem for the German govt. and the general eco-system of employed people paying taxes vs. unemployed people receiving state benefits…someone's knee _IS_ going to bend - and like all forced limb bending it's going to be painful.

EU is not just Germany.

And Germany is not only VW/Audi/Porsche.

In my opinion it's pretty clear who will bend the knee.

 

[daveo4EV]

Orange guy tariff definitely hurt the Porsche bottom line, but a second round of price hike in 4 months is their solution?

Tariffs to push Porsche to raise U.S. prices again - Automotive News

it just keeps getting better and better for them…

 

[jk981]

For me it was the handling that tipped the scale. My Model S was a P85DL+ - a P85D equipped with the battery power upgrade (internal battery fuse replacement) and the Perfomance Plus Air Suspension (discontinued mid 2015). It actually handled not bad (way better than regular Air Suspension, which I experienced every time I drove my wife's newer Model S). At the time, the highest trim I was able to test drive was a 4S, and it felt "broken" on the highway when I put my foot down - it just didn't have the butter smooth instant acceleration I've grown to expect from a performance EV, and enjoy using (the highway was pretty much the only place I ever floored my Teslas, or today my Taycan - I've never used launch control on either car, other than once to test that it works). So, even though lacking power, I loved the way Taycan handled on the test drives (reminded me of my 911 back in the day, hiding the weight well for such a heavy vehicle). I also wanted to get away from Tesla's perma-beta software (constant updates), was hoping Porsche as an experienced car builder would deliver me solid, user friendly software on delivery day - that didn't quite turn out that way, but it is what it is. So I waited both for the CT, as needed the larger trunk space to replace the model S usage, and for Turbo, for the power. Took 20 months and that's once I opened up my search to nation-wide and called almost every dealer in the country to finally get my CT Turbo built and delivered. Loved it since!

All that said, that was me. I may not be a typical customer. The fact is Taycans got quite a few people cross shopping against a Tesla, or moving from Tesla. Not all of them cared so much about the acceleration (most ordered lower trims of the Taycan, so at least they were not willing to pay and/or wait for more power). As the price gap between Taycan and other EVs increases, the target potential customers drop out. It doesn't help that those same customers now have a number of non-Tesla EV options, something which was not true in the first years of the Taycan.

I'm one of these people. The Model S has solid software, but in a way it tries to do too much, and the driving feel is definitely more "dead" feeling vs the Taycan. I drove a few Taycans with and without active ride and it feels like my Cayman, just a lot heavier. The "car" part of it is way better too, with rear steer, active ride, and the general feel of the interior is just more luxurious. Another round of price hikes might put me out of the market though, it's absurdly expensive already to get a well optioned one.

My biggest worry is that they'll just discontinue it in favor of the Cayenne and Macan EVs. Everyone loves their SUVs, but I can't stand driving around a fat tall egg.

 

[Sar]

A huge draw for me when considering the Taycan was Porsche Active Ride. There are ways to invest in an advanced driving experience that aren't just "gas engine go brrr," and I'd love to see Porsche think of ways to capitalize on a more unique driving experience.

 

[Murph7355]

A huge draw for me when considering the Taycan was Porsche Active Ride. There are ways to invest in an advanced driving experience that aren't just "gas engine go brrr," and I'd love to see Porsche think of ways to capitalize on a more unique driving experience.

This.

Plenty of other contact points with the car too.

In some ways Porsche's business model of having everything as options plays well to a digital world. IF they can do those parts we'll and IF they don't stop supporting products after 5mins.

 

[Tooney]

In Rare Show Of Whimsy, Porsche Patents Tunnel Mode That Will Automatically Make The Exhaust Louder And Open Windows
Beyond simply opening the exhaust valves, the patent mentions how the feature can also activate sport mode, open the windows, crank the heater if it's cold out, downshift by at least one gear, and open up the active exhaust. The patent says this feature is meant to make the acoustic driving experience more emotional during the tunnel passage. It also discusses the potential for this technology to apply to its electric vehicles, and for convertibles to even lower the top for maximum sound enjoyment.

 

[Caraholic]

The Taycan was far too expensive when it first came to market. Now it is just in the stratosphere. Another price hike is so short sighted. They cant move them now with large discounts how is a price hike going to help anything.

 

[whitex]

They cant move them now with large discounts how is a price hike going to help anything.

Thinking out of the box here. Perhaps making the discounts larger results in the deals looking better? $90K car for $90K is not a deal, $100K car for $90K looks good, but $115K car for $95K seems like a great deal!

 

[Caraholic]

Thinking out of the box here. Perhaps making the discounts larger results in the deals looking better? $90K car for $90K is not a deal, $100K car for $90K looks good, but $115K car for $95K seems like a great deal!

I guess that’s one way to look at it. I’m done buying new Porsches as I think their products are far too expensive for what they are. Will they care if I stop buying them no of course not but I’m done supporting the business model.

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