- Porsche says buyers in the luxury segments still want gas engines
- Current gas-powered models like the Panamera and Cayenne to be sold alongside new electric versions
- Porsche 911 likely to stick with gas engines
Porsche will continue developing new gas and hybrid vehicles in the years ahead to sell alongside its growing lineup of electric vehicles, the automaker’s chief financial officer, Lutz Meschke, has revealed.
Speaking during a conference call last month outlining Porsche’s third-quarter financial results, Meschke said the EV transition is taking longer than anticipated and in the meantime Porsche will take advantage of its flexibility in development and production to continue launching vehicles still equipped with gas engines in order to meet the demand of customers in various regions.
Lutz Meschke
“There is a clear trend in the premium luxury segment in the direction of combustion-engine cars, therefore we will react in our product cycle,” he said.
Meschke gave the example of the Taycan, whose sales in the third quarter of 2024 were just 3,394 units, a decline of 35% on the same period a year ago, despite the electric sedan and wagon just being updated with more power and range.
2025 Porsche Taycan GTS
Even in China, the biggest market for EVs, Porsche is having a hard time selling its electric models due to a lack of demand for premium EVs, Meschke said.
“We see steep ramp-up curves for the BEVs in China, but luxury is still missing within the segment,” he said.
It wasn’t long ago that Porsche targeted 80% of sales to be EVs by 2030, but the slowdown in growth for vehicles powered by batteries in the past year got the automaker to abandon that target, though Porsche has stated it could still meet the original 80% by 2030 target, should demand justify it.
Porsche in July already confirmed that the current third-generation Cayenne would remain on sale past 2030, with additional updates along the way to keep it fresh. Porsche said at the time that the updates will ensure the Cayenne’s available twin-turbocharged V-8 engine will be ready to meet future regulations. An electric Cayenne is also due around 2026.
The Panamera, which was just redesigned, is also a likely candidate to remain on sale next decade. And Porsche’s 911 will likely also continue to offer a gas engine in the next decade, with help from hybrid technology. Porsche has already added a hybrid powertrain to the current 911 Targa models, and the Meschke in the conference call said the 911 Turbo will go the hybrid route in the second half of 2025.
