Porsche increases EV targets, confirms 911 hybrid sports car

DETROIT – As the all-electric Porsche Taycan sedan outsells the German carmaker’s iconic 911 sports car, the company is increasing its EV sales targets. It also plans to roll out a hybrid version of the 911.

Porsche on Friday announced it expects 80% of its global sales to be all-electric vehicles by 2030. That compares with previous plans for that amount of sales to be a mix of all-electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, which include internal combustion engines with battery technologies.

“The future of Porsche is electric,” Porsche CEO Oliver Blume told media during a roundtable.

Blume declined to predict the breakdown of the non-all-electric vehicles, citing a “flexible engine strategy” that could include internal combustion engines, hybrids and plug-in hybrids.

The Taycan is Porsche’s first and only all-electric car so far. It represented about 14% of the company’s 301,915 vehicles sold in 2021. Taycan sales were 41,296, topping record sales of the 911 at 38,464 units.

The company’s next two EVs are expected to be the Macan SUV in 2023, followed by the 718 sports car by 2025. Blume also confirmed a hybrid version of its 911 sports car is coming, but he did not disclose a timeframe for its release.

Porsche reports nearly 40% of Porsche vehicles sold in Europe were all-electric or plug-in hybrids vehicles, or PHEVs. Porsche currently offers two PHEVs, which are viewed by many as a short-term, transitional technology before all-electric vehicles.

Porsche’s plans are unique among global carmakers in the fact that it doesn’t plan to completely give up on vehicles with traditional internal combustion engines. Specifically, for its 911 sports car, which is considered among the best “driver’s cars” in the world.

Porsche announced a roughly $24 million investment in the development of “e-fuels,” which officials say is a climate-neutral fuel to replace gasoline in nonelectric vehicles.

Blume described e-fuels as “an ideal complement” to EVs.

The new EV plans were announced in connection to Porsche, which announced a preliminary agreement last month to be spun off from VW into a public company, announcing its 2021 financial results.

Porsche reported new records in both sales revenue and operating profit. Sales in 2021 were 33.1 billion euros ($36.7 billion), up 4.4 billion euros ($4.9 billion) from 2020. Porsche’s operating profit last year increased by 27% to 5.3 billion euros ($5.9 billion) compared to 2020.