On The Taycan Trail

The all-electric Porsche Taycan arrives in India this month. But are we sufficiently prepared for the switch to electric mobility?

- Sameer Kumar

Last month, we wrote about the Audi e-tron GT’s India launch, and this month, it’s the Porsche Taycan that’s arriving in India. Who could’ve predicted the electric cars market here would heat up so much in such a short span of time? Just a couple of years ago, electric cars were barely a blip on the country’s automotive radar and now, suddenly, they’re all over the place. If a supercar manufacturer like Porsche is launching something like the Taycan in India, the country must be really well prepared — in terms of requisite consumer acceptance and, of course, a charging network — for high-end electric cars, right? Ahem. Let’s see about that.

Over the last one year, various carmakers have announced their plans to stop making internal combustion-engined cars over the next five to 10 years. Companies like Volvo, Audi, and Jaguar have announced plans to stop developing new IC engines, and switch to electric-only over the next 10 years. Other companies, including BMW, Mercedes- Benz, Toyota, and the Stellantis Group (which includes brands like Jeep, Fiat, Peugeot, Citroën, and a few others) have also announced their plans to move to electric mobility in a big way; these companies haven’t said they’ll stop working on IC engines, but do aim to have EVs accounting for 50-70 per cent of their total sales over the next few years.