"Porsche Reflects On Its First Electric Car: 'Timing Wasn't Ideal'" - article

[whitex]

Wow, Porsche is actually heading backwards! Back in 2023 when I needed tires, I got onto MyPorsche, there was a link to Shop For Tires, I chose my tires, picked a dealer, got a quote, hit order, got a confirmation with estimate. Next day got a call to schedule an appointment. That was 3.5 years ago.

I just got a nasty flat, so needed a new tire (no way this is patchable). Lucky I swap my tires 3 times a year, so my tires usually age out rather than wear out, therefore replacing just one will be fine (5.7-6.2mm tread left, 7.11mm new - depending on weather, in use 2-3 months a year).

So I go looking for new tire. MyPorsche online tells me it is now phone app only, can't even see my car using a browser. Ok, no problem, so I spend few minutes looking around the phone app where to shop for tires, nowhere to be found. Went back to Porsche.com, they want to sell me T-shirts and wheel covers, but not tires. So I went to my local Porsche website, nothing there to order tires, but got a chat assistant. After describing what I want, it turns out all they can do is take my name and contact info, what a waste of time! So guess what happened, I ordered online at a Discount Tire, NF0 OEM equipment tire, they say they can have it there same day (I looked shortly after midnight), made an appoint while I was at it. All done in significantly less time than I wasted trying to get Porsche to sell it for me. Guess where I'm getting my new tires next time?

I am genuinely curious who Porsche thinks their target customer is, and whether they have realized they are losing customers simply because their sales models are from last century. They appear to be retreating to 20th century technologies (because it worked for them last century I suppose)! I sure hope they won't go the way of Sears (which also stuck to their old sales models instead of embracing e-commerce).

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[F1Ruaraidh]

I'm very critical of much that Porsche does/has done with the Taycan... But 7yrs ago, what material areas were the specs out of date on? Especially given their focus on driving.

Even in 2021 it was hands down the best driving EV...And at least as good as any ICE sports saloon.

They've let it wither in many respects, and could address much of that in software, but won't. However specs out of date on release?

Yes, my 2018 Model S has better range *at 150k miles driven and 90%SoH* than my 2021 Taycan does with the same size battery, the inefficiency of the Taycan is just dreadful. The J1.2 is much better and has far better solutions for charging than 1.2. It's what they should have launched.

Even driving like your gran J1.1 struggles to get under 500Wh/mile.

So yes, their specs are 2015 expected range at best.

 

[F1Ruaraidh]

Too early? Seriously? How about too late. Taycan was introduced towards the end of its opportunity window, which spanned about a decade between 2013 and 2023. Taycan landed in the latter part of the window of opportunity, however Porsche couldn't, or wouldn't (they like to artificially short the supply for the exclusivity play) make enough of them to fill the demand shortly after introduction. I wanted to buy one (i.e. put multiple deposits down with different dealers) in early 2021 (I waited for Cross Turismo, as the sedan trunk did not work for my usecase), but only got my Taycan in early 2023 after cold calling almost every dealer and eventually finding only a single available allocation in the entire country. If I patiently waited for a local dealer, I probably would have gotten mine toward the end of 2024 or early 2025 (later 2024 is when dealers I have spoken with previously started calling with availability). Of course price hikes really didn't help, though I must admit that Porsche hasn't even raised their prices sufficiently to even just offset the weaker dollar, not to mention inflation and tariffs. So perhaps it's not totally their fault for higher prices in the US market. I don't know how much they raised prices in Germany for example, so cannot comment on pricing in other countries.

Demand window for Taycan followed the Model S demand. Once cheaper EVs with similar performance came out, mot many people cared to buy the expensive ones anymore. Notice that Model S, despite having much more superior software, still had its sales fizzle out (now discontinued). So no, Porsche didn't come to the party too early, they came too late, and they were not prepared to take advantage of the demand when it was there. Imagine if Taycan came out in 2013, the sales numbers would have looked so much different. I suspect Porsche prestige, driving dynamics, would have offset Model S software superiority enough that they'd split the market.

When you slowly follow other successes rather than lead, you are bound to miss most of the window of opportunity, plus end up landing your product together with a myriad of other followers, so much tougher competition.

SPOT ON!

 

[Zcd1]

Wow, Porsche is actually heading backwards! Back in 2023 when I needed tires, I got onto MyPorsche, there was a link to Shop For Tires, I chose my tires, picked a dealer, got a quote, hit order, got a confirmation with estimate. Next day got a call to schedule an appointment. That was 3.5 years ago.

I just got a nasty flat, so needed a new tire (no way this is patchable). Lucky I swap my tires 3 times a year, so my tires usually age out rather than wear out, therefore replacing just one will be fine (5.7-6.2mm tread left, 7.11mm new - depending on weather, in use 2-3 months a year).

So I go looking for new tire. MyPorsche online tells me it is now phone app only, can't even see my car using a browser. Ok, no problem, so I spend few minutes looking around the phone app where to shop for tires, nowhere to be found. Went back to Porsche.com, they want to sell me T-shirts and wheel covers, but not tires. So I went to my local Porsche website, nothing there to order tires, but got a chat assistant. After describing what I want, it turns out all they can do is take my name and contact info, what a waste of time! So guess what happened, I ordered online at a Discount Tire, NF0 OEM equipment tire, they say they can have it there same day (I looked shortly after midnight), made an appoint while I was at it. All done in significantly less time than I wasted trying to get Porsche to sell it for me. Guess where I'm getting my new tires next time?

I am genuinely curious who Porsche thinks their target customer is, and whether they have realized they are losing customers simply because their sales models are from last century. They appear to be retreating to 20th century technologies (because it worked for them last century I suppose)! I sure hope they won't go the way of Sears (which also stuck to their old sales models instead of embracing e-commerce).

Bummer about not being able to use your usual method for buying tires, but I’m very surprised that your M.O. had been buying tires at a car dealership in the first place!

I can’t recall ever having purchased tires at a car dealership. I’ve always used local tire stores/Tire Rack and now Discount Tire - much better pricing and excellent service.

Here’s hoping that DT treats you well going forward!

 

[whitex]

Bummer about not being able to use your usual method for buying tires, but I’m very surprised that your M.O. had been buying tires at a car dealership in the first place!

I can’t recall ever having purchased tires at a car dealership. I’ve always used local tire stores/Tire Rack and now Discount Tire - much better pricing and excellent service.

Here’s hoping that DT treats you well going forward!

Oh, I've been using DT for all my cars (including a 911 way back in early 2000's) for over a couple of decades now - have been really satisfied. I made an exception for the Taycan, because I saw the tire option on MyPorsche and their quote came back competitive (about the same price, might have actually been a couple of dollars less, but I don't remember exact details), so I figured why not throw some business their way. That option has apparently been removed. This will be my Tayan's 13th tire (4 came with the car, bought 4 from Porsche, 4 from DT because Porsche wouldn't sell me non NF rated Michelin PS4's for the Taycan, and now one NF0 tire because Porsche stopped selling online).

 

[SoccerMan94043]

Bummer about not being able to use your usual method for buying tires, but I’m very surprised that your M.O. had been buying tires at a car dealership in the first place!

I can’t recall ever having purchased tires at a car dealership. I’ve always used local tire stores/Tire Rack and now Discount Tire - much better pricing and excellent service.

Here’s hoping that DT treats you well going forward!

The local dealer here is about the same price as tire rack (for the same tire) and there is a way to get an estimate and schedule service online :\

From https://redwoodcity.porsche.com/en and it seems to just be a curated tire rack site they are linking (first image is the dealer, second is tirerack)-

https://www.pcnatirestore.com/InitDealer?dealer=4500135

 

[Murph7355]

Yes, my 2018 Model S has better range *at 150k miles driven and 90%SoH* than my 2021 Taycan does with the same size battery, the inefficiency of the Taycan is just dreadful. The J1.2 is much better and has far better solutions for charging than 1.2. It's what they should have launched.

Even driving like your gran J1.1 struggles to get under 500Wh/mile.

So yes, their specs are 2015 expected range at best.

I'm not sure efficiency, at the time of launch, was really that far off the pace for this sort of car. Sure, nowhere near the best, but not radically far off. (3mi/kwh)? Especially if wheel choice was restrained.

The J1.2 gets the vast majority of its range improvement from a lot bigger use able capacity battery and better tyres (available for the J1.1). Other improvements are mostly software (and as noted I agree Porsche are poor at this in terms of what they pass down).

As noted, factor in the way the car feels and drives and Tesla comparison come to a crashing halt

 

[Dabz]

It's odd that range and economy even factor in the discussion. I've never seen a 911 owner compare to other cars by saying the 911 is less economic on fuel or has a smaller tank capacity.

Maybe Porsche didn't factor in that all of a sudden Taycan owners would focus on different metrics when comparing and wanting more

 

[targa666]

It's odd that range and economy even factor in the discussion. I've never seen a 911 owner compare to other cars by saying the 911 is less economic on fuel or has a smaller tank capacity.

Maybe Porsche didn't factor in that all of a sudden Taycan owners would focus on different metrics when comparing and wanting more

Indeed!!! I am actually positively surprised by the energy consumption. On average i’m at 19,4 kw/100km. Not bad at all!

 

[ferdiaz]

Their hesitation is gonna cost them. They'll see committed competition zipping past them, and they'll regret that. EV demand has already picked up.

 

[Murph7355]

It's odd that range and economy even factor in the discussion. I've never seen a 911 owner compare to other cars by saying the 911 is less economic on fuel or has a smaller tank capacity.

Maybe Porsche didn't factor in that all of a sudden Taycan owners would focus on different metrics when comparing and wanting more

A really good point.

I think part of that is all the FUD around EVs...arrrrgh, you can only go 10 miles without having to charge it....argggh the battery only lasts 5mins before it dies and sets on fire.

All of it without any rational critiquing.

 

[whitex]

It's odd that range and economy even factor in the discussion. I've never seen a 911 owner compare to other cars by saying the 911 is less economic on fuel or has a smaller tank capacity.

Maybe Porsche didn't factor in that all of a sudden Taycan owners would focus on different metrics when comparing and wanting more

Taycan and 911 are not in the same category. Taycan and Panamera maybe. That said, Porsche doesn't even list Panamera hybrid fuel consumption in its marketing materials. EV range became important due to the fact that refueling is slower and not as widely available as gasoline. While the EV charging situation has definitely improved, it's still not where ICE refueling is, so people will in fact continue to care. Bugatti Veyron can run its tank dry in ~5 -10 minutes IIRC, when doing max speed, but people don't care because there is usually a gas station at or near the race track.

It's not the cost of fuel that drives potential Porsche EV owners to look for longer range EV, it's anxiety that they will end up stranded. Ironically, range is probably less likely to get you stranded in the Taycan than Porsche's flaky design - electrical errors, dead heater, dead charger, etc - all those happen surprisingly frequently and early in the car's life, I've experienced all those in the first 3 years of my Taycan's life!

 

[Sar]

Taycan and 911 are not in the same category. Taycan and Panamera maybe. That said, Porsche doesn't even list Panamera hybrid fuel consumption in its marketing materials. EV range became important due to the fact that refueling is slower and not as widely available as gasoline. While the EV charging situation has definitely improved, it's still not where ICE refueling is, so people will in fact continue to care. Bugatti Veyron can run its tank dry in ~5 -10 minutes IIRC, when doing max speed, but people don't care because there is usually a gas station at or near the race track.

It's not the cost of fuel that drives potential Porsche EV owners to look for longer range EV, it's anxiety that they will end up stranded. Ironically, range is probably less likely to get you stranded in the Taycan than Porsche's flaky design - electrical errors, dead heater, dead charger, etc - all those happen surprisingly frequently and early in the car's life, I've experienced all those in the first 3 years of my Taycan's life!

Yeah, there's range anxiety, and don't forget there's degradation fears. "I buy a car that has 250 miles of range, and in 5 years it could be just 150!"

Even folks on this forum have threads dedicated to meticulously watching battery degradation.

They're both very real concerns in 2026. Hopefully in 2030 the battery replacement market won't look so bleak.

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