What chances does the new Mercedes-AMG GT 4-door Coupe have when its rival, the Porsche Taycan, is selling increasingly poorly and Porsche has been forced to suspend Taycan production for two consecutive periods?
Porsche will halt production of the Porsche Taycan at its Zuffenhausen plant on May 29, with additional shutdowns planned for calendar week 22 due to weak demand. Porsche had already stopped Taycan production for one day at the beginning of May 2026, and another multi-day interruption will follow starting May 29.
Porsche confirmed the information to the German magazine auto motor und sport. A Porsche spokesperson quoted by the publication stated: “We align our production with the order situation, which naturally leads to fluctuations. Furthermore, shutdown days are necessary to carry out required maintenance and modifications in production.”
Launched in 2019, the Porsche Taycan received a facelift in February 2024 in an attempt to revive sales. However, despite the technical improvements introduced, sales continued to decline.
Here is how sales have evolved since 2019:
| Year | Units |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 20.015 |
| 2021 | 41.296 |
| 2022 | 34.801 |
| 2023 | 40.629 |
| 2024 | 20.836 |
| 2025 | 16.339 |
In 2024, the year of the facelift, sales were cut in half, and in 2025 they fell by another 20%. The decline continues in 2026 as well, with only 3,240 units sold globally in the first quarter of 2026, 19% fewer than in the same period of 2025.
The drop in Taycan sales is consistent with Porsche’s overall sales decline. In the first quarter of 2026, Porsche sold only 60,991 vehicles globally, 15% fewer than in the same period of 2025. The biggest decline was recorded in China, at 21%.
Another reason for the declining sales is the reduced demand for luxury electric models, with sales of the electric Macan SUV proving weaker than those of the combustion-engined model, which has no longer been sold in Europe since 2025 and whose production will end in the summer of 2026.
In response to these trends, Porsche has decided to revise its plans. The Stuttgart-based manufacturer will scale back its electrification strategy and launch new combustion-engine and PHEV models:
- a new combustion-engined Macan will arrive in 2028
- the Cayenne and Panamera with combustion engines and PHEV powertrains will continue to be sold well beyond 2030
- the SUV positioned above the Cayenne will also receive combustion-engine and PHEV versions, which will be launched before the electric version, although initially only a fully electric model had been planned
The Taycan production halt comes exactly at the launch of the new Mercedes-AMG GT 4-door Coupe, which is available exclusively as an electric model. Furthermore, the new Mercedes-AMG GT 4-door Coupe does not have a lineup as broad as the Taycan, offering only two high-performance versions that compete with the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT, priced at 241,100 euros. The Mercedes-AMG GT 4-door Coupe is expected to be even more expensive.
That is why Mercedes-AMG’s decision to offer the new four-door coupe exclusively with electric propulsion is highly risky. Mercedes hopes that new technologies such as YASA axial-flux motors and the new F1-inspired battery will attract more customers.
If sales fail to meet expectations, Mercedes-AMG has no backup solution because the AMG.EA platform is an EV-only architecture.
