Porsche is borrowing 400 employees from parent company Audi for at least two years to help meet booming demand for the all-electric Tayca, its Tesla competitor, reported German industry publication Automobilwoche.
An Audi spokesperson confirmed the move to Automobilwoche.
Soon after Porsche began taking orders for the Taycan, in 2018, stronger than expected demand pushed the automaker to double its first-year production goals of the Taycan from 20,000 to 40,000, CNBC reported last year. Porsche began delivering the Taycan in the US this year.
The strong demand is a good sign for the growing segment of luxury all-electric cars — and poses a challenge for Elon Musk’s Tesla, which pioneered the high-end electric vehicle segment with the Roadster and Model S. But a few new entrants from traditional manufacturers could lure some big spenders looking for an electric car away from Tesla.
For now, Musk dominates the game. Tesla has remained the top-selling electric vehicles in the US, producing four of the five best-selling EVs so far this year. But along with the Taycan, which will soon be available in rose gold starts at just over $100,000, the Jaguar I-Pace, Volkswagen’s Polestar, Audi E-tron, Lucid Air, and more are poised to battle Tesla for the high-performance luxury electric market.