Porsche’s Electric Taycan Pulls Ahead of the Iconic 911 in Sales

(Bloomberg) -- Porsche’s electric Taycan has outsold the 911 combustion-era flagship for the first time, underscoring the German sports-car maker’s accelerating shift toward battery power.

The Taycan sedan, competing with Tesla Inc.’s Model S, edged past its stablemate by a few hundred cars in the year through September with 28,640 vehicles sold, Porsche said Friday. Overall deliveries climbed 13% during the first nine months, in a sign of resilience as the protracted shortage of chips forces many manufacturers to temporarily halt output. 

“The order books are well filled and we’re very enthusiastic about the final few months of the year,” Porsche sales chief Detlev von Platen said in a statement. “Nevertheless, the situation on coronavirus globally remains volatile and we’re facing significant challenges on the supply of semiconductors.” 

Volkswagen AG’s most profitable brand added a more spacious version of the Taycan to its lineup this year. The manufacturer expects electrified vehicles to make up more than 80% of global deliveries in 2030, with a purely battery-powered version of the Macan SUV due to hit showrooms in 2023.

Porsche proved relatively resilient to the global semiconductor shortage during the first nine months, with total deliveries rising to 217,198 vehicles. Sales got a boost from surging demand in the U.S., Porsche’s second-largest market after China, where deliveries jumped 30%. 

The Cayenne SUV and the slightly smaller Macan remained the brand’s bestsellers at more than 60,000 units each.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.