Porsche Taycan GTS / Courtesy of Porsche Korea

By Kim Hyun-bin

Porsche customers and dealers are increasingly frustrated with the German luxury car brand after it abruptly halted the delivery of its electric vehicle (EV) model, the Taycan, according to customers and industry officials, Tuesday.

Customers and dealers alike have been left in the dark for over a month not knowing why the delivery of vehicles has been suspended since the end of September.

"We were sent a notice from headquarters that they will stop deliveries of the Taycan but no specific reasons or details were addressed," a Porsche dealer in Seoul said.

The Taycan is an EV that the company debuted in Korea in 2020. Models currently on sale in Korea include the Taycan, Taycan 4S, Taycan 4 Cross Turismo, Taycan GTS, Taycan Turbo, Taycan Turbo Cross Turismo and the Taycan Turbo S.

Porsche Korea CEO Holger Gerrmann / Courtesy of Porsche Korea

A total of 1,296 Taycans were sold last year, while 1,015 vehicles have been sold through September this year.

It has been over a month since Porsche Korea decided to stop delivery of the Taycan, which has increased customer dissatisfaction and complaints.

"The dealer contacted me to advise that the delivery was suddenly stopped," a person wrote on a Porsche-related online community, which also had a number of posts asking about the reason for the suspension of the Taycan and the timing of its resumption.

There are various speculations about the cause of the abrupt halt, such as vehicle module-related updates and pre-delivery inspection problems.

Porsche Korea has not stated the exact reason for the suspension or when the deliveries will resume.

"Some of the Taycan vehicles are being checked, but we were not told specific reasons for the suspension on deliveries or when it will resume," a Porsche Korea official said.

This is not the first time Porsche Korea has stopped delivery of the Taycan. In August, its delivery was temporarily suspended for about a month. According to the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA), no new Taycans were registered in August.

At that time, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport initiated a major recall. The recall target was a total of 2,278 Taycans including unsold ones manufactured from Sept. 23, 2020, to July 28, 2022, and it was found that the brake system failure automatic display identification code did not meet safety standards.