P
orsche is betting big on
the Taycan. Make no
mistake, Taycan is more
than just greenwash, more
than just a hastily improvised
mea culpa for the Volkswagen
Group’s dieselgate. Porsche is
spending more than a billion
dollars to bring its first electric
sports car to market, almost
$800 million of that on a dedi-
cated new factory.
The Taycan factory has
been wedged in and among
various existing buildings at
Porsche’s manufacturing site
in Zuffenhausen, Germany.
Clearing the site alone cost
more than $50 million, making
it a more expensive option than
simply expanding the newerproduction facility at Leipzig
where the Macan and Pana-
mera are built.
Taycan production specialist
David Thor Tryggvason points
out the site is the symbolic
heart of Porsche, where the
iconic 911 has long been made.
“We want Taycan to be part
of Porsche,” he says, “and to
send a signal that the future of
Porsche is at Zuffenhausen.”
The new Porsche Taycan
factory includes a facility that
assembles motors, transmis-
sions, and axles, along with
a dedicated body assembly
line, a new paint shop, and a
2,900-foot-long conveyor that
transports bodies, motors,
battery packs, and axles to the
final assembly hall.
The innovative factory
makes heavy use of automated
guided vehicles (AGVs) devel-
oped in-house by Porsche.
Small AGVs in the powertrain
and axle assembly areasnavigate between stations
using sensors and wireless
communication. Larger AGVs
that rely on optical sensors to
follow QR codes on lines taped
to the floor are used instead of
traditional conveyor belts in the
body and final assembly areas.
The QR code system makes
the layout of the factory’s
large final assembly plant
very flexible. Assembly lines
can be moved or changed
simply by laying a new line of
tape. And without the need to
support bulky conveyors, the
building’s floors didn’t have
to be as robustly engineered
and expensive to build as they
would be in a conventional
factory.
The Taycan will launch in
two-motor form, with motors in
two levels of tune. Core motor
parts are from third-party
suppliers. The casings and
transmission, however, are
Porsche’s own design. Because
the motors will be built in two
power variants, Porsche says
this requires a high-precision
assembly process. But although
the motor assembly is largely
automated, Porsche workers
hand-select the shims that
ensure there is just 0.3mm
of clearance between the
rotor/stator and the housing.
Porsche wants its workers to be
actively involved in building the
Taycan’s motors.
The Taycan factory is slowly
being brought up to speed. The
first motor, transmission, and
axle assemblies were built in
the middle of 2018, and the firstA Look Inside Porsche’s Taycan Factory
bodies a few months later. The
first completed Taycan came
off the line in the unfinished
final assembly hall in December
2018, just before Christmas.
Once production processes
have been bedded in and
Porsche is confident cars can
be produced in higher numbers
without impacting quality, the
factory’s innovative and flexible
layout means output could
readily be doubled from its orig-
inal estimate of 20,000 Taycans
up to 40,000 units a year.
What’s more, Porsche claims
it is already holding 30,000
orders for the Taycan, before a
single customer has even driven
one. Based on the company’s
2018 production numbers,
that would make this electric
Porsche more popular than the
718 Cayman/Boxter and within
striking distance of both the
911 and the Panamera. And it’s
roughly 60 percent of total Tesla
Model S production last year.
Yes, Taycan is a big bet. But
so is the potential payoff.
Angus MacKenzieand batteries warms the interior. Even
in reindeer country, I had to remove my
jacket in the car.
That Porsche wasn’t afraid—even
encouraged us—to test the car’s limits in a
harsh environment telegraphs the confi-
dence engineers have in the new Taycan.
The automaker originally planned to
make 20,000 Taycans annually but has
already decided to double capacity at the
plant in Zuffenhausen and is trainingmore workers now. The U.S. will get as
large an allotment as needed to meet
demand, we are told.
Much like Arctic Blue is challenging
Napue for the hearts of the Finnish gin
drinkers, Porsche is using the Taycan
as a throwdown in the electric luxury
sedan market. It’s betting beauty, quality,
engineering, repeatable performance, and
the Porsche name will convince buyers to
consider a new brand. Q72 MOTORTREND.COM APRIL 2020SPECS 2020 Porsche Taycan 4S
Base Price $105,150
Vehicle Layout Front- and rear-motor,
AWD, 5-pass, 4-door sedan, hatchback
Motors 429-482-hp/472-479-lb-ft AC
permanent-magnet electric (comb)*
Transmissions 1-sp auto (fr), 2-sp auto (rr)
Curb Weight 4,800-5,000 lb (mfr)
Wheelbase 114.2 in L x W x H 195.4 x 77.4 x 54.3 in
0 -6 0 MPH 3.8 sec (mfr est)
EPA City/Hwy/Comb Fuel Econ Not yet rated
On Sale in U.S. April
*522-563 hp in launch control mode