Porsche Halved EV Charging Speeds Due To Defect, Suit Says

Porsche has allegedly decreased the charging speed of its electric vehicles due to a defect, according to a lawsuit filed in a California court.

The German automaker allegedly halved the charging speed of its Taycan sedan and some of its other electric vehicles, in order to circumvent the defect, according to a complaint filed Thursday in a U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.

The suit, filed by two Taycan owners, asserts that the defect is a problem with the vehicles’ Charge Coupler, which is the piece of the vehicle that is connected to the charging station. The Charge Coupler allegedly fails prematurely in cold temperatures, causing the vehicles to charge at a much slower rate than advertised.

The complaint alleges that rather than fix the defect, Porsche instead reduced the maximum charging speed of the affected vehicles, including the Taycan, to half the advertised rate. According to the lawsuit, this was done to prevent the Charge Coupler from failing when exposed to cold temperatures.

The suit also contends that the reduction in charging speed was not disclosed to customers, who paid a premium for the vehicles’ advertised charging capabilities.

The lawsuit seeks damages for the two Taycan owners, as well as an injunction requiring Porsche to cease its alleged deceptive practices and repair the vehicles’ Charge Coupler.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Porsche said the company “takes the allegations made in this lawsuit very seriously” and is “working to investigate the issue.”

The complaint alleges that Porsche’s alleged failure to disclose the defect and subsequent reduction of charging speeds constitutes a breach of both express and implied warranties, as well as violations of California’s Unfair Competition Law and Consumer Legal Remedies Act.

The plaintiffs are seeking both economic and punitive damages, as well as an injunction requiring Porsche to fix the defect and restore the vehicles’ advertised charging speeds.