Recently, new members of the Toyota electric Taycan family have been added: the first GTS model, the Taycan GTS, and the first crossover, the Taycan Cross Turismo, have started pre-sales respectively. The Turbo S version, which is sold for 1.838 million yuan, has also become the most expensive pure electric model at present. According to Porsche officials, in the first three months of this year, a total of 9,470 Taycans were delivered to new customers around the world, which also allowed the new electric product to surpass the "legendary" fuel model 911 in the first quarter. However, while the Porsche electrification product camp continues to expand, it is facing a large-scale problem of car owners' rights protection in recent years, and its reputation in China is also undergoing tests.
The Taycan family has added new members
The four Taycan Cross Turismo models, which are pre-sold, are available in four power versions, with prices ranging from 968,000 yuan to 1,838,000 yuan. The pre-price of the new Taycan GTS is 1.392 million yuan. As can be seen from the highlights of the new product released by Porsche Online, the 800V architecture with a high-tech chassis that enhances off-road performance, combined with the innovative "gravel" mode, allows Taycan Cross Turismo to expand the driving scene to highways, tracks and off-road, and the improvement of ground clearance, rear passenger head space, luggage compartment loading and mileage data has further improved the driving experience in the car. The panoramic sunroof of the new Taycan series, with light control, has also become an innovative design.
The Porsche Taycan already has 9 models. (Manufacturer official picture)
Previously, at Porsche Global's 2022 press conference, Porsche announced that by 2025, the sales of electrified models (including plug-in hybrid or pure electric models) will reach half. By 2030, the sales volume of pure electric models will account for more than 80%. The introduction of the CrossTurismo model has enabled the Taycan to have 9 models, evolving into another family of coupes and crossovers.
The "electric steering column" reduction triggered collective rights protection
However, behind the prosperity scene, the ultra-luxury brand considered the most successful in the country has exposed more and more discordant elements. During the online live broadcast of the new car, it was swiped by the owner of the rights protection car. Because the live broadcast did not open comments at that time, the owners of the rights protection car changed their names to "Porsche suspected of sales fraud" and "Porsche also gave me electric steering column" and other names, and relayed to dominate the screen by brushing gifts.
During the online live broadcast of Porsche's new car, it was swiped by the owner of the rights protection car. (Web Photo)
The live broadcast rights protection incident stemmed from the previous reduction of the "electric steering column" of different models of the brand. As we all know, due to the global chip shortage, many car companies' models are still facing the phenomenon of "lack of cores". Porsche is no exception. According to a number of car owners, the manufacturer promised to temporarily reduce the Taycan vehicle to a "manual steering column" due to insufficient chip supply, and the follow-up will upgrade the "electric steering column" for the owner free of charge. However, now the official has changed its mouth to say that it will not be upgraded for free, and only provide 2300 yuan voucher compensation. Not only that, but also the owner said that Porsche is suspected of treating domestic and foreign users differently. For the cancellation of the replacement of electronic steering columns, Porsche's foreign official website has made a special note that "manual steering columns are temporarily provided due to the lack of chips", but it is not mentioned on the Chinese official website, and the "double standard" behavior has caused dissatisfaction among domestic car owners.
Steering adjustment assembly, adjustment switch and steering adjustment lower trim. (Photo courtesy of Porsche owner)
There are Jiangxi car owners who complained that they purchased the 2022 Cayenne Coupé 3.0T Platinum Edition. Ordered in July 2021 and delivered at the end of December. However, when he picked up the car, he was told that due to the global chip shortage, the electric steering column (i.e. the electric steering wheel) was changed to a manual steering wheel, and he was asked to sign an agreement that he would be installed free of charge after the subsequent arrival. Recently, however, he was told not to install it.
The owner reported that the electric steering column installation of the delivered vehicle was "temporarily adjusted". (Picture from the car quality network)
Some Anhui car owners said that they bought a Cayenne in August last year, and when they picked up the car, they told the other party that due to the shortage of chips, the vehicle could only manually adjust the steering wheel, and the electric steering column would be reloaded for free in the later stage. Now the dealer has informed him that he has canceled the reload and can only compensate for the voucher. There are also Macan owners who reflect that they spent 14,300 yuan to choose a 14-way seat, including an electric steering wheel. It was only now about to be delivered that it was told that the lack of an electric steering column chip had led to the inability to use the electric and memory functions, and Porsche only compensated for 2300 yuan in vouchers. The owner expressed strong dissatisfaction with this and asked the manufacturer to deliver it after cashing in accordance with the contract.
Nandu Wan Finance Agency reporter learned that some car owners reflected the same situation, but the amount of compensation for dealers is different. In a group of Porsche owners, a Cayenne prospective owner from Shenzhen said that the Porsche dealer contacted her recently, telling her that the vehicle could only take manually because of the lack of a chip (for adjusting the steering wheel automatically), and provided two options for her: one is to compensate 13800 yuan, and the other is to continue to wait. She was struggling with whether she needed to wait for the chip.
A Shenzhen car owner consulted the car owner in the owner group. (Photo courtesy of Porsche owner)
It is understood that in some domestic third-party complaint platforms, "electric steering column reduction" has formed a large-scale collective complaint incident. The complaint about the "electric steering column" downsizing is also a rare large-scale consumer rights protection behavior at Porsche in recent years. As of press time, Porsche said it was actively dealing with the matter and would have an official statement in the near future.
Domestic first-quarter deliveries fell 20% year-on-year
Recently, Porsche announced the sales volume of the global market in the first quarter of 2022. From January to March, Porsche delivered a total of 68,426 new cars, down 5% year-on-year, and China, as its largest single sales market, delivered 17,685 new cars, down 20% year-on-year, second only to the 25% decline in the US market. In this regard, Porsche explained that it was due to the resurgence of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, as well as the temporary closure of Porsche centres in some areas and logistical challenges.
China, Porsche's largest single sales market, fell 20% year-on-year in the first quarter
However, as long as you analyze the sales composition of Porsche's products, you can see that the delivery volume of its pure electric models has increased significantly, and today, when new energy has become a trend, this development trend has not deviated from the normal track of the industry. In terms of the list of car brand retention rate released by the China Automobile Dealers Association last year, Porsche still ranked first. Of course, in addition to the reasons for the price increase caused by supply and demand, its brand reputation can also be seen. However, this time the "electric steering column reduction" incident intensified, if Porsche can not give consumers a satisfactory result as soon as possible, there is no doubt that the brand reputation will bring more and more damage.
Producer: Nandu Automotive Quality Observation Room
Written by: Nandu Bay Finance Agency reporter Liang Luozhe