Who Knew: 60 Percent Of Porsche Panamera Buyers Go For The Hybrid

Porsche said that the plug-in hybrid version of the Panamera has been a really surprising hit, attracting 60 percent of the customers since its market debut last June.

The company is currently launching the plug-in hybrid versions of the Panamera in the US and China, which are going to become the model’s biggest markets.

“Customer demand is much higher than the 10 or 15 percent we first expected,” Gernot Doellner, head of the Panamera model line, told Bloomberg. One of the main reasons for this unexpected demand in Europe is tax benefits, boosting the hybrid model’s share by more than 90 percent in Belgium and 70 percent in France. In its home market Germany, 25 percent of all the Panameras sold are plug-in hybrid.

As automakers invest huge money on electrification and new technologies to comply with the ever stricter emissions regulations, Porsche sees its plug-in hybrid lineup gaining some traction and despite the fact that they're basically famous for their sports cars.

Porsche offers the Panamera in two plug-in hybrid versions, the 4 E-Hybrid and the monstrous Turbo S E-Hybrid. The former -which is also the cheaper model- offers up to 32 miles (50km) of all-electric driving range, as well as 462hp from its plug-in hybrid powertrain.