Not so fast.
Maybe…not for a good long time.
In an amazing turn of events, where luxury carmakers like Porsche and Mercedes-Benz planned to go all-in on electric vehicles, making them a staple of their selection, instead of a cool, exclusive niche product?
It turns out no one wants them.
Manufacturers around the world are failing to convince their richest customers to switch to cars that run on batteries rather than gasoline — even after pouring billions of dollars into developing them https://t.co/OUvmi2rH32
— Bloomberg (@business) September 24, 2025
For what these folks in the upper tiers are willing to spend on their vehicles, they’d rather have something that zoom zooms with a throaty roar. And however sexy the EV, they are failing to convince the consumer to purchase them.
When Porsche AG prepared investors for its stock-market debut three years ago, its finance chief vowed that the company’s electric vehicles would soon out-earn its roaring gasoline counterparts.
Now, battered by waning demand for its Taycan EV and rising production costs, the German manufacturer has shelved plans for a battery-powered luxury SUV, delayed several other electric models and announced plans to add more hybrid and combustion-engine vehicles to bolster its lineup.
Porsche’s struggles are symptoms of a worrisome trend for the auto industry. Manufacturers around the world are failing to convince their richest customers to switch to cars that run on batteries rather than gasoline — even after pouring billions of dollars into developing them.
Mercedes-Benz Group AG is struggling to sell its electric flagship, the €110,000 ($129,151) EQS, while demand for Audis in China has collapsed as BYD Co. and Xiaomi Corp. roll out fully loaded EVs at cutthroat prices. Stellantis NV’s Maserati brand late last year dropped plans to develop an all-electric supercar, saying it no longer sees a market for the model. Luxury-focused EV startups such as Polestar Automotive Holding UK Plc and Lucid Group Inc. remain unprofitable as well-heeled drivers opt for gas guzzlers instead.
“Many customers are petrol-heads — they want the sound and character of a V8, V12 or a high-revving V6,” said Tom Jaconelli, a director at UK-based dealer Romans International. “Car culture and community events still revolve around combustion cars, and for now EVs don’t really excite enthusiasts in the same way.”
Uber British luxury brand Bentley is also rethinking its approach to the electrification of the entire line. The legendary car maker is going to ‘refocus,’ which is always code for ‘abrupt change in plans because we may have screwed up.’ Bentley wants to be able to ‘take our customers with us.‘
Well, how thoughtful of them.
…As part of its ‘Beyond 100’ strategy, Bentley originally wanted to convert its entire model range to electric drive by 2030. This goal was already postponed by five years last year. Now, the British luxury brand has announced that it will refocus on combustion engines in the medium term.
“Electrification is still our goal, but we need to take our customers with us”
This was announced by Bentley CEO Frank-Steffen Walliser in an interview with Autocar. Although the company still intends to launch one electrified model per year from 2026 onwards, in the form of pure electric cars or plug-in hybrids, it has scrapped its fixed date for phasing out combustion engine technology.
“There is a dip in demand for luxury electric vehicles, and customer demand is not yet strong enough to support an all-electric strategy. The luxury market is a lot different today than when we announced Beyond100,” Walliser told the British trade magazine.
A ‘dip in demand’ is so British, is it not?
People were not buying their vision. Sadly, in business, it’s ultimately customer demand, not the business demanding a customer accept what they have.
As this fellow points out, despite all the announcements, goals, and Gaia-saving platitudes, the luxury market remains ‘EV skeptical’ as EVs do not meet the luxury threshold of ‘removing all inconvenience and irritation,’
They can be a major pain in the tuchus. Even the perception itself is a turn-off for many.
Well, Bentley, the luxury market is not a lot different today. It actually hasn’t changed. It remains EV-sceptical, and super-luxury EV have been shown to have very poor residuals. Luxury means the removal of all inconvenience and irritation. pic.twitter.com/ASafMGOX9j
— Hilton Holloway (@hiltonholloway) September 23, 2025
For the German brands, this was a luxury lesson price-wise, too, at a time when the European auto manufacturers are being buffeted by Chinese competitors and pricing/manufacturing pressures alike.
Porsche pulls back from EV strategy, hitting VW with $6B loss
Porsche announced on Friday a dramatic pullback from its electric vehicle strategy, dealing a $6 billion blow to parent company Volkswagen and marking the fourth time this year the luxury automaker has cut its financial guidance. The Stuttgart-based company will delay the launch of several all-electric models and extend the production of combustion and hybrid vehicles well into the 2030s, responding to weaker-than-expected EV demand and mounting global pressures.
There is also the problem of EVs being remarkably easy to knock off. For years, the luxury models were all foreign brands to China, like the Porsches and Mercedes. But no one learns faster and makes better copies than the Chinese. Now, those traditional car brands have fallen away, with the Chinese imitations rocketing up the charts to supplant them in popularity and sales. This, too, is hurting the bottom line.
There’s a major shift underway in how Chinese consumers view Chinese brands.
Foreign luxury cars and other foreign brands used to be the biggest status symbols. Now we have a Chinese EV brand topping the charts for luxury car sales in China across both EVs and traditional cars.… pic.twitter.com/Lz1GhbPrPY
— Kyle Chan (@kyleichan) July 9, 2025
The Chinese are moving in, literally and figuratively, and that’s bad news for every manufacturer that isn’t nimble enough to take them on in product design and price.
WATCH: Chinese EV maker BYD sold three times as many new cars in the European Union last month than in August 2024, surpassing US competitor Tesla, as the bloc saw a rise of hybrid and EV sales from a year earlier pic.twitter.com/GbeIe2xuFx
— Reuters Business (@ReutersBiz) September 25, 2025
I don’t know about you all, but this looks like one ugly ass K-car to me. You couldn’t pay me good money to take it.
1986 meets the future—Hyundai just dropped a retro-electric masterpiece that’s turning heads across the globe.
The Hyundai Grandeur Heritage Series EV. pic.twitter.com/nMV2Hl6R3M
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) September 23, 2025
Like someone was out of design ideas and said, ‘Just draw a box and call it ‘retro’! They’ll eat it up!’
Here in the States, there’s going to be a sales hangover, since it seemed everyone who wanted one ran to a dealership to grab it before the tax credit went POOF!
EV sales in North America surpassed 200k for the first time in August as consumers rush to take advantage of the tax credit before it expires.
YTD 12.5 million units, with growth across the board
CH +25%
EU +31%
NA +6%
ROW +44%
#EV #battery pic.twitter.com/I1ureTeKp2— Iola Hughes (@RhoMoIola) September 12, 2025
We’ll see what EV ‘demand’ is really like if the economy stays steady. Are people going to buy them at any great rate, or will they slowly fizzle away when forced to stand on their own appeal in the marketplace?
There’s the $64,000 question.
Ed, David, John, and I love bringing you the best in conservative news and views, be it breaking or just so darn interesting, that we had to share.
But we can’t fight the good fight without your help and support.
We would love to invite you join our tremendous VIP community. You can use the code FIGHT right now to join during the 60% off special – it’s a terrific opportunity to look into the VIP Gold and Platinum memberships.
Thank you all for being here at HotAir with us.
