Taycan looks set to outsell Porsche’s 911

Porsche has sold nearly 10,000 Taycan electric sedan this first quarter. Photo: Liz Dobson

Demand for the Porsche Taycan has been so strong that sales of the fully-electric sedan have nearly matched those of the popular 911 sports car.

In the first quarter Porsche produced 9072 Taycans, just 61 units behind the 911, the German brand said in a statement.

The Taycan, Porsche's first purely battery-powered model, debuted in 2019 as a competitor to the Tesla Model S. The brand next year will launch a battery-powered version of the Macan.

“Established models have supported this excellent result along with the latest additions to our product range, above all the new model variants of the all-electric Taycan,” Porsche sales chief Detlev von Paten said, referring to the brand’s 36 percent first-quarter surge.

“We can look back on a very positive start to the year.”

The Porsche 911 is a popular vehicle for the German luxury brand.

Porsche’s total global deliveries rose to 71,986 vehicles in the first quarter, driven mainly by demand in China, its largest market.

For the first quarter 2021, Porsche NZ has sold 186 vehicles, while in 2020 there were only 368 registered due to Covid.

The compact Macan SUV was the brand’s best-selling model, ahead of the larger Cayenne. The mid-engine sports cars also remain popular: 6,190 examples of the 718 Boxster and 718 Cayman were delivered. The Panamera was handed over to 5,600 customers.

The demand in the first quarter confirms the sports car manufacturer’s optimistic outlook for 2021 as a whole. “Order bookings also continue to develop very well. We will fulfil the dreams of many more customers with our sports cars in the coming months,” said von Platen.