Porsche Taycan, plug-in hybrids shake up large premium segment

Strong demand for the station wagon variant of the Audi A6 has lifted the large premium segment in the first five months of the year, but sales figures for the period also show the huge effect electrification is having on one of Europe’s longest-running sectors.

The wagon accounted for 77 percent of the A6 range’s sales through May, according to figures from JATO Dynamics, boosting overall demand for the A6 family by 34 percent compared with the same, pandemic-impacted period the year before.

That puts Audi ahead for the year in the race between its long-standing rivals, the BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class, which finished second and third, respectively (see table, below).
 

The three models far outsold their nearest rivals, cementing their position at the head of a sector where new arrivals continue to enter hoping to lure customers away from the German trio.

The newest of these are the DS9 sedan from Stellantis' DS Automobiles and the G80 sedan from Hyundai luxury brand Genesis.

However the gap between the 21,353 sales figure for the third-placed Mercedes E-Class and the fourth placed Volvo V90 at 7,251 shows how tough the competition is.

Neither the DS9 nor the Genesis model have a wagon version, which limits their chances of competing in a sector where that body style accounted for 55 percent of all sales through May.

Both the Lexus ES and Maserati Ghibli are also sedan-only in the segment. Only two companies, Volvo and Jaguar, offer a wagon version alongside their sedan to better compete with BMW, Audi and Mercedes.

The chances of winning sales from the German trio are hampered by the fact that 44 percent of sales of large premium cars through May took place in Germany, where car buyers are traditionally loyal to its home-grown brands. The country also heavily favors wagons.

The UK was the second-biggest market for large premium cars with 13 percent of sales over the period. Sweden, Poland and Italy rounded out the top five.

EV transition

Europe’s rapid shift toward electrified models has shaken up the segment in two ways.

The first is the surging sales of the Porsche Taycan full-electric sedan, which moved into fifth place just behind the Volvo V90 with sales of 5,888, up 194 percent.

The second is the growth of the plug-in hybrid, which in the first five months this year accounted for 25 percent of all sales.

Diesel remains the most popular powertrain at a little more than half, but plug-in hybrid sales grew 122 percent in the first five months.

Looking that the big three models, the BMW 5 Series led the plug-in hybrid shift with the powertrain accounting for a third of all sales for its model family. The Mercedes E-Class plug-in hybrid’s share was 30 percent within its range. The Audi A6 was still predominantly diesel at 65 percent, with plug-in hybrids holding a 19 percent share of sales for that model line.

Newcomers are reacting to the shift. The DS9 is being launched with three plug-in hybrid variants and just a single gasoline model.

The flagship plug-in hybrid offers 360 hp and four-wheel-drive by harnessing a 1.6-liter gasoline to a powerful electric motor. That type of power and performance used to only come from six-cylinder models in the segment.

The segment’s battery-powered vehicles are limited to the Taycan and the slow-selling Tesla Model S, but more models are in the pipeline. Audi announced in April that the A6 e-tron would arrive in early 2023.

It will be the second model from the brand to be built on the new PPE (premium platform electric) architecture co-developed with sister brand Porsche.

The new Audi will keep the A6 “master name” despite switching to a fastback design much like the Audi A7. The A6 e-tron promises a range of more than 700 km (435 miles) from its 100-kilowatt-hour.

Mercedes, meanwhile, announced this year that the EQE would join its electric range but provided no other details. Less is known about BMW’s rumored i5, which would complete the trio of electric large premium sedans from the segment’s main players.

The first challenger to the Taycan in the segment will be an electric version of the Genesis G80 that will launch early next year.

It’s likely Volvo will offer an electric replacement to the S90 while Jaguar could return to the segment in electric form when it moves to an all-electric range in 2025, ending the XF’s largely failed attempt to make an impact on the sector.

Sales revival forecast

The renewed interest in this more traditional segment after years of losing share to SUVs will revive sales, at least in the midterm, according to estimates from LMC Automotive.

The sector is nowhere the size it was in 2005, when sales topped half a million, according to JATO data. But the replacement of the Mercedes E-Class, which launched in 2016, and the BMW 5 Series, launched in 2017, plus their anticipated electric variants will boost sales from their low of 229,358 last year to more than 400,000 by 2024, LMC estimates.

“Electric versions from the likes of Audi and Mercedes will help to support this segment,” LMC senior analyst Sammy Chan said.

The question is whether future electric models will keep to the same body styles. So far no one has shown a large premium electric wagon, and while electric sedans are popular, low-riding crossovers such as the Audi e-tron have appealed more to car buyers.

“Battery compartments change the design profile of these vehicles,” Chan said. “We could see models morph into a less traditional shape.”