Porsche sold more Taycans than its iconic 911 sports car last year, new figures show.

The Taycan arrived in 2019 and in the model's first year Porsche shifted more than 20,000 units. Last year, that figure more than doubled to 41,296 as the model range swelled to 10 including three versions of the more practical Cross Turismo estate. 

It means the pure-electric Porsche surpassed the iconic 911's sales figure of 38,464 deliveries in 2021 – itself the model's best-ever result in its near-60-year history.

Overall, Porsche sales jumped by 11% last year as the carmaker resisted supply difficulties which blighted others. Sales in the US were up by 22% alone, but China remains the German firm's largest market with 95,000 deliveries last year.

Demand in Europe grew by 7% to 86,160, but Porsche said sales here were particularly interesting as 40% of total European deliveries were of either electric or plug-in hybrid models.

Detlev von Platen, board member for sales and marketing at Porsche, said: “Despite the challenges posed by the semiconductor shortage and the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic we have been working hard to enable more customers than ever before to fulfil their dream of owning a Porsche.

“Demand remains high and our order books are looking very robust, so we start 2022 full of momentum and confidence in all regions of the world."

He added: “The overall result is very promising and shows the strategy to further electrify our fleet is working and is in line with demand and the preferences of our customers. At the same time, unit sales are not the decisive factor for us. Rather, we want to stand for exclusive and unique customer experiences and will continue to expand these worldwide.”

Porsche said 40% of sales in Europe last year were of electric and plug-in hybrid models