Daily Slideshow: Porsche Drops in $8 Billion Towards Electric Vehicles
Porsche announced to the world that they are dead serious when it comes to an electric future by doubling its investment. Could the folks at Stuggart and Tesla be the ones to change our highways as we know them?
That's a lot of money
In a move that gives other brands looking to catch up and beat Tesla one more thing to worry about, is the stiff competition that will come from Porsche. The German sports automaker said this week that it's doubling its previously announced investment into hybrid and all-electric vehicles to the tune of $7.4 billion through 2022, according to multiple sources. The Mission E sports saloon is due next year with the brand promising to develop other vehicles off of that platform in order to speed up the turnaround time of brand options.
You could have a different Porsche each day
Porsche will also be using those funds to further invest in what it's calling "new technologies, charging infrastructure and smart mobility." It was just last year that Porsche tossed its hat into the smart mobility ring with the Porsche Passport pilot program for access to various Porsche in Atlanta.
“Alongside the development of our models with combustion engines, we are setting an important course for the future with this decision,” Oliver Blume, chairman of the Porsche AG executive board, said in a statement following the organization’s move. The announcement of the sizable investment comes on the heels of Mercedes-Benz announcing a $1 billion influx of funds to upgrade its Tuscaloosa, Alabama factory for EV production.
Fast charging to eliminate adoption woes
Porsche will be equipping the Mission E with everything it needs in order to be the choice for EV consumers who want an established brand's take on a super sedan. The company has already said that the car will go from 0-62 mph in less than 3.5 seconds and have a range of about 310 miles. In late December, Porsche let it slip that the car will recharge within 15 minutes and have a starting price that will place it below the Panamera sedan. So a good section of this 7.4 billion influx of money will be to cover upgrades to its main assembly plant in Zuffenhausen, Germany for the production of EVs. In particular, the brand plans to spend about $620 million for the development of variants of its Mission E car according to Business Insider. Another portion of the funds will go towards the electrification and hybridization of the existing product range.
Quite the powerful collective
But what's all these proposed vehicles to do when they are in need of more juice? Porsche has said that around $868 million will be used for new tech and Turbocharger stations. Since the automaker is part of the Volkswagen Group's charging investment, all of its dealers would be part of the charging network. Porsche and Audi are additions to the Ionity joint venture which will include the BMW Group, Daimler AG, and the Ford Motor Company. The goal of the venture is to construct and operate these powerful rapid charging stations along the major European traffic routes. In fact, construction began back in 2017, and by the year 2020, the vehicles that should be rolling out of showrooms. Unfortunately, at this point, there are no public plans for any Turbocharger stations in the U.S. What makes this Ionic deal such a big factor is that it is the first serious challenge to the Supercharger network that Tesla has.
Taking Porsche into the future
For anyone who is afraid of this new era of Porsche really has no need to fear as the automaker has never truly let their consumer base down. In addition to that comforting notion, there is the knowledge that performance-oriented plug-in hybrids already offered like the Panamera Turbo S E Hybrid. Porsche has plans to offer a future entry-level model of the Mission E that will send power exclusively to the rear wheels. The electric motors won't be direct drive units as the Mission E is expected to get a two-speed automatically operated transmission.
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