No Roar, No Transformation? What Porsche Teaches Us About Sustainable Change

The Mobility Transition Isn’t Stalling Because of Technology — It’s Stalling Because of Us

Let’s start with a scene that sounds almost satirical: an (electric) Porsche that automatically rolls down its windows in a tunnel so the driver can hear more noise — artificial noise — because silence apparently isn’t dramatic enough. This isn’t a joke. It’s a patented feature.

Why does a supposedly futuristic vehicle need to simulate the past to feel exciting? And what does that tell us about the real barriers to sustainable transformation?

The mobility revolution isn’t hindered by technology. It’s hindered by human behaviour.

We love to believe that the future of mobility depends on battery range, charging speed or drivetrain engineering. But the real challenge is simpler — and far more complex: getting consumers to change deeply embedded habits, meanings, identities and emotional expectations.

Porsche recently admitted that its EV goals won’t be met unless customer demand increases. Translation: the tech is ready, but the mainstream isn’t.

That’s where our concept of the 60% Potential comes in.

The 60%: The Majority That Makes or Breaks the Mobility Revolution

Forget the early adopters — they’re already on board. The real transformation happens when the broad, behaviourally driven middle of society moves. The 60% are not tech fans, not sustainability idealists. They are everyday consumers whose choices determine whether a technology becomes normal — or stays niche.

If we don’t win them, nothing scales. Not EVs. Not shared mobility. Not multimodal systems. Not the transformation we keep promising. We developed the concept of the 60% Potential in our book "The 60% Potential" (shortlisted by GetAbstract for the International Book Award). 

The "60%" symbolise the critical mass of the population: people who are not early adopters, but who must be willing to adopt more sustainable forms of mobility for a genuine system shift to happen. This group – through their behaviour, purchasing decisions, usage patterns, and habits – determines whether electric mobility, sharing models, and multimodal mobility concepts break out of their niche.

Link to the German book: https://www.amazon.de/Das-60-Potenzial-Marketing-breite-begeistern/dp/3593519585

Link to the English book: https://www.amazon.com/60-Potential-Mainstream-Sustainable-Consumption/dp/3593521067

Porsche’s Tunnel Mode: A Masterclass in Human Behaviour

Take Porsche’s newly patented "Tunnel Mode" — a feature that senses tunnel entry and automatically creates a louder, more dramatic sound experience. Windows open. Acoustics amplify. Even the 2026 Porsche Cayenne Electrics simulates the acoustic, and hence emotional kick of combustion.

Why? Because customers expect it.

Because behaviour beats rationality.

Because culture outperforms range anxiety.

A 1,000-horsepower electric SUV is objectively absurd. But it makes sense once you grasp this: mobility decisions are emotional long before they are logical. We cling to sound, symbolism, identity, ritual. If an EV must roar like a V8 to feel "right," brands will make it roar.

History Repeats: Innovation Always Arrives in Disguise

Early electric lighting was deliberately designed to resemble familiar gas lamps — so the future wouldn’t look too frightening at first. Early cars looked like horseless carriages. New technologies succeed when they feel familiar enough not to scare people.

Transformation doesn’t happen through shock. It happens through cultural resonance.

And mobility is one of the most culturally loaded categories of all.

The Real Barrier: Culture, Not Charging Stations

Sustainable mobility does not fail because we lack technology. It fails because we underestimate:

• habits

• identity

• emotional attachment

• cultural meaning

• the desire for continuity amid change

• or to put it simple: in human behavior

If we want mainstream sustainable mobility, we need less techno-optimism and more human understanding. The mobility revolution will not be won in labs or boardrooms — but in the everyday behaviours of the 60%.