Porsche saw sales of its all-electric Taycan drop in Q1 compared to last year, with the automaker attributing the decrease to persistent supply chain issues which limited production. Those supply chain issues are entering the rear-view mirror now according to Porsche’s finance chief Lutz Meschke.
Meschke confirmed the major supply chain issue had to do with the Taycan’s high-voltage heating system. Many of these heaters that were installed in Taycan, as well as Audi e-tron GT vehicles, were faulty and needed to be replaced. With a limited supply the automaker decided to replace the faulty units first, limiting production of new cars with the updated heating system.
“The focus in the first quarter for the Taycan was to deliver spare [high-voltage heaters] for our existing customers,” Meschke explained to Autocar.
However the supply of updated heating systems has improved, which will allow Porsche to ramp production of the Taycan this year.
“Now we’re in a very steep ramp-up curve together with our supplier when it comes to the higher-voltage heating system, and therefore we expect an increase in the BEV share in the upcoming months. We’re very confident to reach the BEV share [target] of 12-14% for the entire year.” he said.
Despite the supply chain issues and the limited production, demand for the Taycan in all markets is still strong, according to Meschke. In Q1 2023 Porsche sold a total of 9,152 Taycans, a figure that was 3% less than the same time period last year. Canada accounted for just 131 sales of the Taycan, which was also a drop from the first three months of last year which saw 141 new Taycan owners.
Those Porsche customers who already had a Taycan order but missed out on a 2023 model due to the supply chain issues won’t be paying the new higher prices for the 2024 models. In Canada the price increases, announced in March, range from a low of $6,100 to a high of $9,500. While in the US the price increases are similar when taking into account the exchange rate, ranging from a low of $4,200 to a high of $7,500.
