Porsche's electric sedan and wagon duo have enjoyed a far smoother launch than some other EV offerings from European automakers, getting a warm reception from longtime Porsche owners and EV shoppers alike. But as with any EV launch from an automaker large or small, there were some lingering doubts that the model would maintain interest over a moderate period of time, without sales dropping off a cliff after the first 12 months or so .

These doubts seems to have been erased late this year, as the automaker released delivery numbers for the Taycan, noting that it has eclipsed delivery numbers of all versions of the 911 from the start of the year through the third quarter.

"The Porsche Cayenne remains the most successful model, with 62,451 examples delivered, followed by the Macan with 61,944 units, a 12 percent increase," the automaker said. "The fully electric Taycan was also extremely popular, with 28,640 cars being delivered to customers. Now in its second full year on the market, it is on a par with the iconic 911 sports car, 27,972 of which were delivered in the first three quarters—an increase of 10 percent."

Of course, the 911 itself has not led Porsche sales figures for quite some time, having been upstaged by the Macan and Cayenne. But the Taycan managed to beat other Porsche models as well, include the 718 Boxster and 718 Cayman, which collectively recorded 15,916 deliveries in the same time period, as well as the Panamera, which posted 20,275 deliveries. Porsche notes that the Panamera and the 718 models recorded just one percent of growth over 2020, which pales in comparison to gains exhibited by other models.

Porsche did not say which just regions showed the most growth when it comes to the Taycan alone, but it's worth noting that northern Europe has been in the midst of an EV boom for the past year and a half, with customers spending months on waiting lists for a number of popular models.

When it comes to its entire lineup, Porsche points out that the 51,615 vehicles delivered in the US represent a 30 percent increase over 2020, while Europe had seen just a 2 percent increase over that same time period. So car shoppers in the US are certainly leading the buying spree when it comes to all Porsche models, even though Germany saw much more of a gain in EV sales in the past two years.

"The strong positioning in North America is also reflected in the findings of the most recent J.D. Power APEAL study: As in previous years, customers still see Porsche as the most appealing premium brand," the automaker noted. "Across the American continent as a whole, Porsche made a total of 63,025 deliveries, 29 percent more than in the first three quarters of 2020."

Porsche has confirmed it would suspend production of the Taycan at its Stuttgart factory until the end of next week. The German marque made the announcement today, in response to media requests made by Reuters. Other models are also affected by the production pause.
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On a normal day, Porsche's factory would build 200 Taycan units, which means that almost 2,000 customers' units will not be manufactured when the factory had planned to make them. The figures above only refer to the Taycan and involve more than 10 days of production that will be missed.

Other Porsche models were affected by the situation, as the company's factory in Leipzig had production suspended until the end of this week, but will resume on Monday, at least partially, Reuters noted. The plant in Leipzig builds the Macan and the Panamera.

The cause of both production pauses is supply issues, which have risen because wire harnesses suppliers in western Ukraine had to stop working due to the Russian invasion.

On a different note, an allegedly leaked internal memo was posted by a South African vlogger on Twitter. While Caleb Schroëter claims to have received the image from a friend of his, the memo claims that Porsche production in March will be partly stopped for all model lines, not just the Taycan.

The same image of the alleged memo, yet to be confirmed as an official document for Porsche employees or dealers, claims that the Taycan's production was cut off since March 3, 2022, while Macan and Panamera production was temporarily stopped since March 2, 2022.

Porsche 718 production is allegedly supposed to temporarily stop starting March 14th, while the 911 GT3 and 911 Touring production allegedly takes a break starting March 17th, 2022. The 911 range would be the last to have a pause in production, which would start on the last day of March, the 31st.

Earlier this month, Porsche decided to donate one million euros in a bid to help provide emergency aid to people who were affected by the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. At the same time, the German marque decided to limit its communication to the minimum out of respect for the situation in the European country.

Porsche is reportedly pausing production as the war in Ukraine continues.

An alleged internal memo from within the German car manufacturer posted to Twitter states that the situation in Ukraine affects the automaker’s supply chain and will impact the production of practically all current Porsche models.
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If the memo is to be believed, Porsche will pause production of the 911 GT3 and 911 GT3 Touring models on March 17, halt production of all other 911 models on March 31, and also pause production of the 718 Cayman and Boxster on March 14, the Cayenne on March 7, the Macan and Panamera on March 2, and the Taycan on March 3

No information is provided on how long the production halts will last. In a statement issued to Motor1, Porsche confirmed that production at its Leipzig plant that builds the Panamera and Macan had indeed shut on March 2 and that it won’t resume until March 11. The spokesperson added that Porsche’s Zuffenhausen plant remains unaffected but that may not be the case for long. CarScoops has reached out to Porsche for further comment“Further steps will take place in an orderly process,” the spokesperson said. “In the coming days and weeks, we will operate on a short-term basis and continuously reassess the situation.”

This news comes just a few days after Porsche announced it had stopped delivering vehicles to Russia with immediate effect. The German car manufacturer operates 26 Porsche Centers throughout Russia and in the 2021 financial year, a total of 6,262 vehicles were delivered in the country, representing a small sliver of the 301,915 vehicles that Porsche delivered worldwide last year. Russia’s most popular Porsche model for 2021 was the Cayenne, accounting for 54 per cent of all deliveries with 3,431 units sold.

The crisis in Ukraine is expected to impact the automotive industry for quite some time and could lead to a second wave of microchip shortages. That’s because Ukraine is the source of about 70 per cent of the world’s neon output, an important gas for running the lasers necessary to manufacture semiconductor chips...