Porsche leaves Volkswagen emissions pool to partner with Chinese EV
By William Fletcher MBE, Chief Executive Officer, New Reg Limited
Porsche has split from the Volkswagen Group's shared European emissions pool and entered a new arrangement with Chinese electric vehicle maker XPeng to help meet tightening CO2 targets.
Porsche has ended its participation in the Volkswagen Group's collective European emissions pool and will instead work alongside Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer XPeng as part of an effort to keep its fleet-average CO2 figures within regulatory limits, according to multiple reports.
The move comes at a difficult moment for the German sports car brand. Sales of the Taycan, its flagship electric model, have been soft, and that has pushed Porsche's average fleet emissions upward at a time when European regulators are tightening the targets manufacturers must meet. By partnering with XPeng, whose cars carry much lower CO2 figures, Porsche gains a way to offset its own numbers before stricter rules bite in 2027.
The arrangement is an unconventional one. Rather than pooling emissions data with its fellow Volkswagen Group brands as it has done previously, Porsche is effectively joining forces with an outside manufacturer from a completely different market. Multiple reports describe it as an unusual step, though it is a legal mechanism available under European rules that allows carmakers to combine their fleets for the purpose of calculating average emissions.