Like the rest of VW Group, Porsche is investing heavily in electric vehicles. The company recently launched its first electric car, the Taycan; it recently upped its stake in EV hypercar builder Rimac; and Porsche also plans to make the next generation of the Macan, its best-selling vehicle, all-electric.
One vehicle that seemingly could get lost in that electric reshuffle is the Panamera. On the surface, the Taycan seems to renders an electric Panamera redundant. The new four-door EV is about the same size as the Panamera, and comes in at similar price points as the station . The Taycan even has a new quasi-wagon Cross Turismo version that corresponds to the Panamera Sport Turismo.
But Porsche CEO Oliver Blume told Autocar that he still believes a next-generation Panamera could work — but it may need to change.
One way would be for the Panamera to get bigger. Blume says there would be "clear differentiation between them in the C and D segment" in the next generation and that the Panamera is "one step higher than the Taycan." So Porsche could offer a slightly larger Panamera that was definitively larger.
The Panamera could also use a completely different platform. Autocar says an electric Panamera would use VW Group's PPE platform, premium performance, vs. the high-performance J1 platform in the Taycan.
There also may be room for the Panamera to continue as a non-electric car for another generation. Porsche expects 80 percent of its sales to be electrified , not electric , by 2030. Electrified also includes hybrids. So an improved version of the Panamera's current E-hybrid could still have a place in the Porsche lineup.