Porsche is going like a spear. Wait a minute: On petrol SUVs. The brand sold 15 percent more cars in the first half of this year, especially Macans and Cayennes, 90,000 in total. Of course, there are also plug-ins, the golden mean of the energy transition. Still, I didn’t believe my eyes. This burner tree is a big middle finger to the green and to Frans Timmermans.
While it is precisely in the highest price ranges that the EV range is now spacious and desirable. You can also drive royally in the German premium segment at all top houses. Tesla has long since ceased to have the empire alone. In the price range of 80-150,000 euros, I would seriously consider an iX50, i7 or EQE, but an i4 M50 also makes me very happy. Dead quiet and faster than most Bimmers on petrol. What then drives the European bling customer to the pump?
methinks; similar motives to the plug driver who historically switched back to a plug-in after the loss of his tax benefits. Now that it is no different for monthly expenses and you can also do your work electrically with a battery range of 50 to 100 kilometers, the criterion of convenience is back from the old box. Connecting your plug-in to the wallbox at home is less of a hassle than being cold or sweating for half an hour at the Supercharger or Ionity, where you sometimes have to wait for your turn these days. It could also be that consumers do not care enough about the energy transition and that they already feel fed up with 10 to 18 kWh of excuse reserve under the floor in their hybrid giants. Then there is the group of buyers who still find a nice bowl of noise the non plus ultra. In the cities you see the youngest generation of business boys from all corners of the world more often in AMG Mercedes than in Teslas. More prestige, and at least your gabbers can hear you coming. With that approach, the big money is happy to step into a Macan, after which the big roar can begin. The technical conclusion must then read: People miss the car in the car.
Can I imagine something. But now that I’m driving more and more electrically, I see my own perspective on cars tilting. Around here, the cars with a fuel cap remain first choice and I still get into the Volvo or the Copen for the atmosphere, the sounds and the smells. For the long journeys I care less and less because the delay in time after ten years of plug evolution has fallen to almost zero. I neutrally see those vacuum cleaners as private TGVs, colorless but super comfortable.
This week I drove a Tesla Model Y from Groningen to Berlin and back, 1,200 kilometers in total. That went smoothly. After entering the destination, the Tesla specifies the logistically most practical charging locations with the associated charging times for the shortest possible waiting time per charging stop. The app indicates when you have charged enough energy to continue on your way. I had to hit the pole once, which brought the total journey time to six hours, quite reasonable for almost 600 kilometers of driving. Back it became two stops, but that was because I would bring the colossus back to Amsterdam a day later at an incredibly early hour. The Y, produced near Berlin, went fast, sat like a prince, easily reached 500 kilometers and consumed 15.5 kWh on 100 kilometers on the way there, spectacularly modest for such a fat guy.
You don’t have to leave it for the price. Even in the packed Dual Motor version of my business trip, the Y is half the price of a Cayenne. If you buy a pricelessly fine second-hand 911 or 968 from the profit, two birds with one stone. Would I have enjoyed the Porsche more on the road? No. You no longer hear that at 140. But the German with a richly filled wallet will not hang his primal instinct baked in SuperPlus on the charging station. He goes for premium with a loud drum and thick pipes. His money, his fat six-seater, his wall of sound.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl