Is The Porsche Taycan Going To Suffer The Same Fate As The 928?

Porsche’s Change in electrification strategy

A few years ago, everyone talked about the impending demise of the internal combustion engine and how EVs are the future of mobility. The industry showed us, on numerous occasions, that this is far from true. The Porsche Taycan’s sharp decline in sales is the latest proof. Porsche still plans to electrify 80 percent of its lineup by 2030, but we are now talking mostly hybrids instead of EVs. Porsche even extended production of the ICE-powered Macan after introducing its replacement in the form of the Macan EV, which was the right thing to do. You don’t discontinue your most affordable and best-selling model.

The 992.2 Porsche 911 shows the way forward as most variants of Porsche’s models will go hybrid, with only some remaining purely ICE-powered. EV demand in the Chinese market is one of the main reasons for the switch in strategy. Chinese automakers have ramped up production as the Asian nation aims to become the largest EV market in the world. There are plenty of incentives to buy local, which makes the scenery so unfavorable for European carmakers. The only non-Chinese EV company that does well in China is Tesla.

Porsche Taycan doesn’t have a stellar reliability record

Best a sub-par range, another thing that doesn’t help the pre-facelift Taycan’s case is the reliability. According to Consumer Reports, the Porsche Taycan is in the top 10 most unreliable EVs. Here are some common issues experienced by Porsche Taycan owners:

• Brake hoses are prone to cracks, which cause leaks

• High-voltage battery prone to short circuit

• High-voltage battery leaks due to insufficient sealant

• Infotainment problems

The good news for Taycan owners is that there was a service recall for the most severe issues. They were fixed free of charge and typically, within a week. That said, some owners were still frustrated enough that they sold their Taycan after just a few months of ownership.

Why the Porsche 928 failed

Many believe that the Porsche 928 was meant to be a 911 replacement, but there is more to the story. The brand’s first-ever V8 Porsche sports car was built out of necessity after the 930 Turbo "Widowmaker” played a number on Porsche’s reputation. Porsche wanted to give people a more conventional, more manageable performance car, so the 928 was as overengineered as a car could get.

While there isn’t a definitive answer, it is believed that the Porsche 928 was discontinued due to declining sales and the fact it didn’t share parts with other Porsche products. The front-engined rear-wheel drive 928 was a completely new car from the ground up, and for a relatively small automaker like Porsche, continuing production during low demand was economically unsound. To add to that by 1990, Porsche had introduced the Porsche 964 Turbo, which fixed the handling problems of the 930 Turbo.

With the Taycan being a slow seller, the spotlight might, once again, shine on the Panamera

The Porsche Taycan is the brand’s first full EV model. The initial hype was strong enough to make it the fastest-selling performance EV, but in just a few years, things have changed. The initial hype has subsided and in 2024, Taycan sales have dropped by almost 47 percent. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the Porsche EV sedan is going away, but another development might be hinting at that.

“The new Cayenne is fully electric, but for its whole lifespan, we will have the ICE version in parallel. It’s the same for the Panamera, and we’ve also just brought an update to the Porsche 911 with a hybrid powertrain." - Porsche Executive Board Member, Michael Steiner

It’s clear that the Panamera lineup will be similar to the Cayenne, with the fully electric variants being sold alongside the ICE-powered/ hybrid versions. Then, there is the fact that Porsche continues pumping advanced new tech into the Panamera, which tells me the flagship luxury, four-door grand tourer isn’t going anywhere, anytime soon. The Panamera is positioned above the Taycan as a larger, more luxurious, four-door proposition. With the Taycan’s declining popularity despite the facelift addressing one of the biggest issues like driving range and the fact an EV Panamera would offer more of the same, it seems the writing is on the wall, making me wonder if the Taycan’s days are numbered.