Porsche Reflects On Its First Electric Car: 'Timing Wasn't Ideal'

CEO Michael Leiters believes Porsche was "too quick to embrace electric mobility."

Taycan sales have been plummeting in the last couple of years.

Porsche will continue investing in EVs, but gas engines and hybrids are staying for the long haul.

Hard to believe it’s been over a decade since Porsche took the wraps off the Mission E concept. The company’s first indication that it would later enter the EV segment arrived in September 2015 at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Four years later, the production-ready Taycan made its official debut at the same event. Reflecting on the car’s arrival nearly seven years ago, the company’s boss now claims it may have been launched too soon.

German magazine Auto Motor und Sport organized a panel featuring the leaders of Germany’s most important automakers: Volkswagen Group, Audi, Mercedes, BMW, and Porsche. The subject of electrification inevitably came up during the discussion, and the man in charge in Zuffenhausen reflected on the Taycan’s timing.