Porsche Believes Rich Indian Will Lap Up The Electric Taycan Turbo S Even At Rs 2.5 Cr A Piece

Indian electric vehicle market is still under evolution as the global OEMs take a call on whether to introduce their EVs in the country at this time or not. While EVs for the masses are slowly being acknowledged, the luxury car segment in the country suffers from a lack of EV options. So what do the super rich Indians do if they want to drive environmental-friendly high performance cars? They turn to Porsche!

Porsche will be coming up with its all-electric Taycan in India by July 2020, as confirmed by Pavan Shetty, Director - Porsche India at the recent launch of Cayenne Coupe in India. The move will not only mark the company¡¯s debut in the battery electric vehicles in the country, the first mover advantage will most likely put it in a dominant position in the luxury EV segment.

Porsche Taycan Turbo S

To recall, Porsche introduced its first ever all electric car back in September this year. The Taycan Turbo S was immediately pitted against the likes of Tesla Model S. While the two are more or less at par when it comes to performance, a prime difference lies in their price tags. Thanks to the reputed moniker and the luxuries promised with it, Porsche Taycan comes at a higher price point.

Still, the German auto maker feels more confident in foraying into the Indian market. While Tesla has been eyeing a debut in the country since long, it has not been decisive about the same as yet. Porsche, on the other hand mean business, as Shetty puts it, ¡° We are not a blind volume chaser. You can¡¯t change the laws of the land. The question is do you want to do business or do you not want to do business. I want to do business.¡±

The ¡°business¡± mentioned here comes in tough times though. Indian economy has been a decline for the last couple of years. One of the most affected industries has been the automobile sector in the country. With constantly dipping sales, many global OEMs are re-evaluating their strategy for the country¡¯s market, with some even pulling out of it altogether. Porsche seems to be on a daring move instead with the Taycan¡¯s introduction in the mix.

Being in the luxury segment, the Taycan will attract high import duties in the country, surging its price to around 2.5 times that of its US cost. This will put its cost to around $370,000 or Rs 2.6 crore! The German performance-car maker has little to lose though. Porsche will be targeting the super rich Indians with the Taycan and believes that price will not be a problem for the target market. Correspondingly, range anxiety for such an electric vehicle will likely not be a problem for the target audience either, with most of those involved having multiple vehicles at dispense.

Shetty explains that the Taycan ¡°will open up a completely new segment of customers, who are not only sport-car owners, but people who are sport-car owners and also want to be clean and environmentally friendly.¡± Unarguably, ushering a new era of EVs in the country will be propelled if the super rich are attracted to it, as they have ¡°option and the resources¡± to pursue it.

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