1 H BY MARK KANE
Porsche sees its competitive advantage in ultra-fast charging.
In one of the most recent interviews, Klaus Zellmer, president and CEO for Porsche Cars North America, stated that the upcoming Porsche Taycan will separate itself from the competition through ultra-fast charging (to 80% in 15 minutes – “which is almost the same if you fill up your gas tank and have a cup of coffee”).
Of course, a lot depends on Porsche’s own charging infrastructure (at dealers) and progress of Electrify America’s network, but if everything goes as promised, charging time could be cut in half compared to Tesla, or by even more compared to other new models (like the Jaguar I-PACE etc.).
Only time will tell whether 350 kW charging power at up to 800 V is really achievable (especially in a wide state-of-charge window) and how batteries will withstand such fast charging.
Porsche aims to lead in ultra-fast charging, because even long-range cars can’t go too far at high speeds or with consistent sporty driving. Detlev von Platen, Porsche’s executive board member for sales and marketing said:
“It doesn’t make any sense to drive fast and then wait two hours to charge batteries,” von Platen said. Achieving an 80% charge in a quarter of an hour is an “argument for us.”
Source: Fortune