The Taycan is arguably one of the most important model launches in Porsche’s history. It’s also one of the marque’s most expensive investments. It has pumped more than £5.3billion into the project, including the construction of the factory.

It might surprise you to discover, then, that Porsche doesn’t expect the Taycan to turn a profit until 2023.

This is nothing Porsche wasn’t prepared for – the primary expense is battery production. The marque anticipates that over the coming years, battery costs will take a significant tumble. Speaking with Bloomberg, Porsche CEO Oliver Blume said he expected the Taycan to make a “good margin” eventually. 

This is part of the reason why Porsche has launched with the expensive Taycan Turbo and Turbo S models. The truth is they’re not that much more expensive to build than lower-end models. 

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This is also why Tesla launches it’s highest performing and most expensive variants first. That’s why we’re still waiting for the most affordable Model 3, three years after the standard car’s reveal.

Consider also the high volume of fully-electric hypercars that have been revealed of late. A seven-figure list price can absorb the cost of batteries and motors, however high-performance they may be. In turn, you introduce electric power to the zeitgeist while advancing battery and e motor development. It’s a win-win. Going a bit further down the affordability tree for the Taycan is a bit of a brave pill for Porsche.

The Taycan is the head of an electric revolution, though. A loss-leader it may be, but you don’t build an entirely new factory for the sake of producing one expensive car.

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Porsche has been very open about wanting the next-generation Macan to have an all-electric variant. Likewise, an all-electric 911 can’t be more than ten years away. Porsche is one in an automotive group, too. Technical partners are never far away, which in the case of this electric endeavour, it has found in Audi.

The coming E-Tron GT super saloon will borrow some hard-won and expensive Taycan knowhow. The Taycan treads new ground for Porsche, and treading new ground tends to be expensive. But many more models and variants to come will follow in those footsteps.

In terms of production numbers, the Taycan isn’t expected to outstrip the 911, of which around 35,000 are built every year. As we and Bloomberg have previously reported, the 911 is the most profitable car in the world in terms of numbers made versus profit margins.

The most profitable car of 2019 cars been revealed. No, it’s not some unobtainable hypercar with £10,000 carbon fibre cupholders or a million-unit-selling SUV. It’s the Porsche 911 – a car now famous for the fact that it’s one of Porsche’s lowest-selling models.

The 911 makes up just 11 percent of sales, but around 30 percent of Porsche’s earnings. Porsche makes a 47 percent margin on the model, as it brings in over €2billion (£1.8billion) per year for the marque. The only other car that beats it on profit margins is the Ferrari F8 Tributo, which has a 50 percent profit margin. 

However, the F8 Tributo makes up a mere 17 percent of Ferrari’s new vehicle contribution. That’s likely due to annual volumes. A total of 4,000 sales of the F8 Tributo looks insignificant, compared with the 38,000+ 911s that are built in a year. Sales of the 911 in 2018 alone – yes before the 992 – outstripped everything from Aston Martin, Bentley, Ferrari and Lamborghini, combined.

That’s some volume, especially when 47 percent of that take is profit. 

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That’s only on Carrera models, too, which are always the first out of the showroom for a new 911. More expensive variants such as the Turbo and GT3 are predicted to come with still-higher margins.

Michael Dean is the automotive equity research analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence, the publisher of these figures. He called the earnings on these high-margin cars “disproportionately high”.

“It’s a very simple calculation: the 911 is very profitable in its own form, and when you add the variations, the margins became immense,” Dean said.

“If you assume they sell 10,000 Turbos anyway, plus GT3 and Turbo S, just the Turbo variants of the 911 alone could actually mean half a billion dollars in terms of profit for Porsche.”

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Porsche spoke of how pleased it is with the strong performance of the 911 in a company sales report.

“The 911 capacity to fascinate is stronger than ever,” said Porsche executive board member Detlev von Platen. 

“We just celebrated the world premiere of the new 911 at the end of the year at the Los Angeles auto show, and yet our sports car icon once again inspired more customers in 2018 than in the previous year.”