Porsche says it already has plans to move forward with a significant production boost for its Taycan EV. The fully electric sedan's production has been limited for a time due to supply chain issues. More specifically, according to Porsche's financial chief Lutz Meschke, a shortage of high-voltage heaters is to blame.
While Porsche has never been a high-volume automaker, it still faces supply chain issues and parts shortages just like any other global carmaker. This has proven especially true across the industry since the COVID-19 pandemic caused turmoil in many industries.
Nonetheless, Porsche says demand for the Taycan continues to be strong across the globe. Customers have been waiting many months for their EVs, and the drop in market share can only be attributed to supply chain issues and a lack of parts.
The German luxury brand was still able to sell 9,152 Taycans in the first quarter of 2023. However, the number was down over 3% year over year. Still, the popular electric car was only second in sales to Porsche's prized 911 for the quarter. Meschke shared via Autocar:
“The focus in the first quarter for the Taycan was to deliver spare [high-voltage heaters] for our existing customers."
As the story goes, a small number of Taycan EVs, as well as Audi e-tron GT models were produced with faulty heaters. The automaker decided to replace the bad units in existing vehicles, which meant there was a bottleneck related to producing new copies.
Porsche says the problem has been addressed along with the help of its supplier. This means it's on track for what it calls a "very steep ramp-up curve." Meschke explained:
"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."
All in all, Porsche’s total share of fully electric car sales versus gas car sales dropped in Q1 2023, from 13.9% to 11.4%. However, Meschke remains optimistic. In fact, he said he's confident Porsche will still be able to reach its battery-electric vehicle (BEV) share target for 2023 as a whole, which is set at 12 to 14%.
