Evolution and Experience: A Conversation With Porsche Canada President & CEO Trevor Arthur

Performance, experience, and customization are talking points that have been at the core of Porsche for years. The touch, feel, and sound of their cars makes the brand immediately recognizable even without spotting badges or its iconic silhouette. That said, Porsches of the 21st century continue to embrace modernity — as any good automaker must — bringing with it a slew of new models both electrified and petrol-fuelled to satisfy a new generation of Porsche owners without offending or neglecting its already-loyal following. But how does that all translate into the Canadian market? We sat down with Porsche Canada President & CEO Trevor Arthur for a discussion about all things Porsche: past, present, and future.

SHARP: I’ve owned several Porsches over the years and certainly, they’ve changed tremendously. Of the current range, the Carrera line retains most of that original Porsche DNA, but with this evolution coupled with the Cayenne and Macan being so incredibly popular (and arguably a rather solid sales success) alongside the iconic 911, how does this change the brand and its market position? Does it change who buys a Porsche, and aspires to a Porsche?

Trevor: I don’t think it’s a matter of changing the brand. I think it’s that lineage, that history — if you look right all the way back to our founder back in 1948, you know that statement “I could not find quite the car I dreamed of. So, I decided to build it myself.”

The first car, the 356 number one is still special today, and what we still live by today is that unique blend of everyday usability, timeless design, efficient performance. It’s not always being most horsepower or fastest all the time — it’s about intelligent performance. When you look at that, it still permeates today. We always want to be the sports car in whichever segment we’re in, and when you take a look at Cayenne, Macan, Panamera, our icon the 911, and you look within the segment itself, we still hold true to that value. If we’re going to be in a segment, we’re going to be the sports car in that segment.

I currently drive a Cayenne GTS Coupe, and my car before that was a 911, and it’s not like you get out of a 911 and you go into a Cayenne and say: “I’m no longer in a sports car.” When you’re in it, you hear that V8 turbo roar to life. I mean, the performance, the handling — everything is spot on with the brand, so I don’t think expanding into other segments really changes anything. There are some buyers, as you can appreciate, for whom a 911 or 718 Boxster or Cayman doesn’t fit their lifestyle. But they still want that pure driving experience‚ and that’s what we deliver through our other four-door models.

SHARP: How does the Porsche DNA, with the aspiration of being the sports car within a segment, tie the Porsche Experience Center Toronto? The idea of a facility with a racetrack and simulators certainly upholds the sports car DNA, but how are you seeing this experience with non-sports-car customers, you know Macan owners, Cayenne owners — how’s that working?

Trevor: We truly believe and we’re committed to the fact that Porsche is simply more than a car, and more than a brand. It’s an experience, and we’ve got to deliver on that commitment to our customers, fans, and enthusiasts. And so, building and operating the Porsche Experience Centre here in Canada opens that window to a lot of people. It’s a complement to what you can experience at the 23 Porsche Centres across the country. We always talk about our dealer partner locations being a version of Experience Centres themselves. The Porsche Centres are going through a bit of a revitalization and rebranding into Destination Porsche, and you’ll see commonality, details all throughout to make it just a warm and welcoming environment. The PEC is really an extension of that.

This facility is open to the public, so everyone can experience the brand first-hand. Some will come in and spend some time with the simulators to race a virtual Porsche on any track around the world, and then grab a coffee, do a little bit of shopping, and watch the energy and the excitement around the track. Others will want to be down on that two-kilometer circuit and sit in the car with a certified Porsche instructor and truly experience a Porsche from behind the wheel.

To come back to your question: We are seeing a higher take rate for GT and Turbo drive experiences here. Sometimes that’s because people want to really experience the performance of the car, and the PEC is an ideal environment. Running on the 401 in that car is different than coming down and pushing it around with an instructor on our circuit where you get to experience corners like the Laguna Seca Corkscrew, the Daytona Bus Stop, or the Nürburgring Carousel. So, we are seeing higher take rates on these types of programs, but we’re also seeing many people simply wanting to experience 911 versus mid-engine. When people are making decisions on which cars to go with to get that back-to-back experience, you can’t go to any Porsche Centre and get to truly experience the dynamics of these cars when you need to be laser-focused while being out on public roads. That’s the great difference.

We’re going to continue to leverage our electrified line-up as well. We’re fully prepared here with 350-kilowatt charging and with the Taycan and Macan being part of the program, and we want people to experience that back-to-back. Guests can come in and try a Macan Electric versus a combustion-engine Macan. If you’re making a purchase decision, this is a further extension of our Porsche Centres, locally and nationally that you can come in and really get that back-to-back experience.

Most importantly, I always say I really want to celebrate car culture. And you know, my previous position was in Los Angeles where car culture is flourishing. You can’t have a weekend where there are no cars and coffee meets happening. We’re going to leverage this facility to nourish that car culture. This is not a facility for Porsche owners only; this is a location where we want to welcome everybody. We did that this summer with a great inaugural cars and coffee event. We had 250 cars down on the dynamics pad and around the handling circuit. We just celebrated the brand and community all day long. And that’s what we’re going to do increasingly throughout the year.

SHARP: To circle back to EVs for a moment. What are you finding now is the barrier to entry for customers? We all know anecdotally people express concerns about range, or perhaps there’s a price disparity on a comparable ICE vehicle. Within the group of customers that you’re trying to attract, what barriers are they getting over, and why are they going that direction versus the ICE cars?

Trevor: It depends on where the fit is for that individual customer. I mean, 80% of charging happens at home, so in terms of range, when you look at an average commute for the average consumer, an electric or electrified vehicle works. In fact, a plug-in hybrid is a great bridge between pure ICE and pure BEV. Our customers really get the luxury of choice in terms of what’s going to fit them best. There’s nothing quite like being able to avoid the gas station, come right home, plug in – and the next morning, you’re ready to go.

In the BEV segment, our brand offers the Taycan as well as the Macan Electric, with the new Cayenne Electric coming out mid next year. That vehicle has up to 1,139 horsepower and runs zero to 100 km/h in 2.5 seconds, which is a tenth of a second quicker than the 918 Spyder. Under ideal conditions it will be able to charge from 10% to 80% in under 16 minutes, and it handles and looks like a Porsche. There’s really no trade-off. I think it’s just a matter of ensuring we continue to develop the infrastructure in the country, and that’s the responsibility of all parties involved, whether that’s the manufacturers, whether that’s the Porsche Centres, which all have 350 kilowatt chargers on site. Porsche customers just gained access to the Tesla Supercharger network as well, so you can charge an electric Porsche at the majority Tesla stations across North America. There have been some barriers, but I think people are getting over those and now it’s just coming back to what’s practical and useful for you.

SHARP: I want to circle back to the customization side of things for a moment. Porsche was one of the progenitors of from-factory customization, and champions of it really, and has I think pushed the industry along quite a bit in a much broader manner. Perhaps you’d agree that Porsche has moved up-market in the last 10 years or so, as the top of the luxury and performance market has continued to move higher. For example, the Rolls-Royce Phantom now is a $1,000,000 car, and the brand has built a huge new facility that’s devoted specifically to customization. How do you see this evolving further at Porsche, and where do you see the brand taking Porsche Exclusive, given how it has expanded so far and is more ingrained in the Exclusive process? Are there any trends you’ve noticed at Porsche relating to customization?

Trevor: The two programs are that we support strongly are Sonderwunsch, which I believe you know well and Exclusive Manufaktur which is still highly personalized. The trend that we are seeing is that most people are looking to individualize their vehicle in ways that go beyond just run-of-the-mill options or finishes. Exclusive Manufaktur handles a lot of those types of requests typically. Sonderwunsch is then the next level. Honestly, you become part of the design team — you dream it, and we build it. That’s really the intent. We can’t always 100% deliver on that, but we really stretch as much as we possibly can so that no matter what that ideal individualized Porsche is for you, we will work to fulfill that that dream.

So just a couple of fun facts, in 2019 we had 600 standalone Exclusive Manufaktur
options available across the Porsche lineup. By 2023, that rose to over 1000. That’s a strong indicator in commitment and recognition of that trend to make sure that we keep ahead of it. What it boils down to is capacity. It has been exceedingly difficult to keep up with the demand on that option and so we have expanded capacity, but there’s also a lead time on that. If it’s a standard PTS color, then that’s a little easier. If it’s something like a beautiful jacket you’re wearing today and that’s what you want, then there’s technical testing that needs to be done behind the scenes. We’re seeing a significant volume of people wanting to do something bespoke, and they’re willing to wait for it. I’ve been with the brand now for 17 years. We’ve always had a small segment of clients who are willing to wait for a special order, but now we’re talking about most of our clientele.

SHARP: I’d like to touch on the topic of Porsche DNA. When you think of the feel of the steering wheel in a Porsche, it’s something that echoes through all the cars that wear the badge — you immediately know you’re in a Porsche. Where is this passion for the product and this vision for this unique driving experience coming from in terms of when everyone’s together at Porsche and talking about what the future is, and what future cars are going to be?

Trevor: The inspiration always goes back to that first 356, and if it had been sitting here right beside us you would see commonalities across everything. But that’s a car that came out in 1948 and now 75-plus years, we look at a Taycan, a Cayenne, or at the GT3 RS, and you’re going to see that that legendary fly line. It’s the design language. That DNA in our two-door sports cars has always been there. First the 356, then the original 911 — it’s always been evolution rather than revolution. But that said, there’s been significant changes from the original G body into a 992 that we have today but park the two side by side and you clearly see the commonality.

Then you get into the handling, the feel of that car. It’s emotionality. I think we continue to try to keep a certain simplicity, while staying up to date with technology. Sometimes we can take a little criticism for that; we know some people are looking for something more analog, while others are looking for more tech. The balancing act for Porsche is to continue to stay true to our heritage while also embracing modernity. In terms of performance, we’re an engineering company where form follows function. That’s the bottom line. Whether it’s a Taycan or a 911 driven back-to-back, you’re not going to get out of one and into the other and say: “I don’t see the connection at all”.

That’s the magic of Porsche in a nutshell. Locally, we drive Porsche passion, delivering a customer experience as legendary as the cars that we build. That’s our responsibility in the market. We don’t necessarily get to share all our ideas, although there are some very cool meetings in Germany that I get to attend, and globally we have a lot of people that give feedback on our products. But once these incredible cars are built, it’s our responsibility to make sure that the experience, whether it’s from Porsche Canada or from all of our great dealer partners, that it’s not acceptable to just deliver a great car. We have to honour the commitment that we’ve made as a brand.

FEATURE IMAGE BY JORDAN ROMANI

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