TechCentralTechCentral
    Facebook Twitter YouTube LinkedIn
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentral TechCentral
    NEWSLETTER
    • News

      New Openview channels coming as platform turns profitable

      27 May 2022

      Wapa’s Paul Colmer on why Icasa should open up 6GHz for Wi-Fi

      27 May 2022

      How Broadcom’s blockbuster VMware deal happened

      27 May 2022

      The cost for South Africa to quit its coal habit: R4-trillion – study

      26 May 2022

      Apple is feeling the smartphone industry chill

      26 May 2022
    • World

      Musk sued by Twitter investors for stock ‘manipulation’

      27 May 2022

      Broadcom agrees to buy VMware for $61-billion

      26 May 2022

      Musk pledges more equity to fund Twitter deal

      26 May 2022

      Sony looks beyond the console to PC and mobile gaming

      26 May 2022

      Andreessen Horowitz raises world’s largest crypto fund

      26 May 2022
    • In-depth

      Bernie Fanaroff – the scientist who put African astronomy on the map

      23 May 2022

      Chip giant ASML places big bets on a tiny future

      20 May 2022

      Elon Musk is becoming like Henry Ford – and that’s not a good thing

      17 May 2022

      Stablecoins wend wobbly way into the unknown

      17 May 2022

      The standard model of particle physics may be broken

      11 May 2022
    • Podcasts

      Spectrum auction opens up big growth opportunities – Ruckus Networks

      26 May 2022

      Everything PC S01E03 – ‘The story of Intel – part 1’

      25 May 2022

      The rewarding and lucrative careers to be had in infosec

      23 May 2022

      Dean Broadley on why product design at Yoco is an evolving art

      18 May 2022

      Everything PC S01E02 – ‘AMD: Ryzen from the dead – part 2’

      17 May 2022
    • Opinion

      A proposed solution to crypto’s stablecoin problem

      19 May 2022

      From spectrum to roads, why fixing SA’s problems is an uphill battle

      19 April 2022

      How AI is being deployed in the fight against cybercriminals

      8 April 2022

      Cash is still king … but not for much longer

      31 March 2022

      Icasa on the role of TV white spaces and dynamic spectrum access

      31 March 2022
    • Company Hubs
      • 1-grid
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Amplitude
      • Atvance Intellect
      • Axiz
      • BOATech
      • CallMiner
      • Digital Generation
      • E4
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • IBM
      • Kyocera Document Solutions
      • Microsoft
      • Nutanix
      • One Trust
      • Pinnacle
      • Skybox Security
      • SkyWire
      • Tarsus on Demand
      • Videri Digital
      • Zendesk
    • Sections
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud computing
      • Consumer electronics
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Energy
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Motoring and transport
      • Public sector
      • Science
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home»Sections»Motoring and transport»Porsche unveils its first-ever all-electric sportscar

    Porsche unveils its first-ever all-electric sportscar

    Motoring and transport By Agency Staff4 September 2019
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email

    Porsche chose Niagara Falls, a Chinese wind farm and a solar site in Germany to unveil its first all-electric sports car, underscoring the new Taycan’s central role in turning parent Volkswagen into the world’s leading seller of battery-powered vehicles.

    After a bumpy start for sister brand Audi’s e-Tron, the Taycan, expected to be priced at around US$90 000 (R1.35-million), is for the time being the flag-carrier in VW’s massive drive to unseat e-car pioneer Tesla. The wraps come off on Wednesday at simultaneous events in its three biggest markets, where Porsche — which has churned out roaring sports cars for seven decades — will bathe the new car in a backdrop of sustainable-power imagery.

    Despite all its engineering muscle as the world’s largest automaker, VW has struggled to slow Tesla’s march. The debut of the e-Tron, a challenger to the Model X sport-utility vehicle, was marred by delays and a recall. Tesla chief Elon Musk has meanwhile stretched downmarket with the lower-priced Model 3, which started selling in Europe this year and is about to begin production in China.

    The Taycan is a turning point for Porsche and the industry as it raises the technical bar for electric vehicles beyond Tesla

    The Taycan and the mass-market VW ID.3 will be on display at next week’s Frankfurt auto show, and are slated to start production later this year, underscoring VW’s more than €30-billion push to produce battery-powered cars across all price segments. It’s a plan the German manufacturer can ill-afford to see falter.

    The Taycan “is a turning point for Porsche and the industry as it raises the technical bar for electric vehicles beyond Tesla”, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Michael Dean wrote in a report. The Taycan should “be profitable from launch given Porsche’s proven pricing power, albeit at vastly reduced margins as compared with petrol-powered models”.

    At last count, the Taycan, a sleek, four-door sedan, had attracted about 30 000 deposits, a figure that’s set to be updated later Wednesday. The car is partly financed by a €1-billion green Schuldschein promissory note, the first for a car maker. It may quickly outsell the iconic 911 that has led Porsche’s appeal among the world’s wealthy for decades.

    Head-to-head with Tesla

    The technologically refined car will go head-to-head with Tesla’s ageing Model S, after Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar and Audi opted for SUVs to kick-start their electric-car offerings. Tesla is facing concerns over whether it can deliver sustainable profits amid waning demand for its older models while sales rise for the cheaper Model 3.

    “Model S and X volumes have plummeted in the last two quarters and have been a huge drag on Tesla’s recent financials,” Sanford Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi said in a note. He counted a number of potential factors, including cannibalisation from the Model 3, ageing product design and new competition.

    The jury is also out on whether Porsche can generate acceptable returns on cars designed to keep the manufacturer’s healthy margins ticking over in the shift to tighter emission rules. It enters the fray in rude health as VW’s most profitable brand.

    Demand for the Cayenne SUV helped to lift sales by 2% in the first half despite a slowing market. Maintaining healthy operating returns — at 16.5% during the first six months — is key to funding VW’s unprecedented shift into the new era.

    The Stuttgart, Germany-based manufacturer picked the three Taycan event locations to showcase sources of green energy: Niagara Falls in North America for hydro power, a solar farm outside of Berlin and a wind farm in China near the city of Fuzhou. While automakers gradually move toward battery-powered cars, the energy used to charge them often still comes from non-renewable sources like coal plants.

    Porsche has seen promising sales of plug-in hybrid versions of existing models like the Panamera four-door coupe, with over half of customers in Europe going for partially emissions-free options. To ease concerns over going fully electric, the car maker is installing fast chargers at dealerships in the US and Europe.

    VW is also participating in Ionity, which is rolling out a network of high-speed charging points across European highways. The Taycan can recharge 100km in four minutes, and has a total range of 500km.

    High-tech goodies include a horizontal touchscreen that stretches all the way to the passenger side, with a separate control panel. The infotainment integrates Apple Music software that lets drivers capture a song on the radio and add it to an their playlist. (Android-phone owners are out of luck — Porsche’s infotainment system only works with Apple.)  — Reported by Christoph Rauwald, with assistance from Gabrielle Coppola and Chunying Zhang, (c) 2019 Bloomberg LP

    Porsche Porsche Taycan Tesla top
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Previous ArticleArtificial intelligence used to detect risk of heart attack
    Next Article TomTom, back from the dead, is mapping out a new future

    Related Posts

    New Openview channels coming as platform turns profitable

    27 May 2022

    Wapa’s Paul Colmer on why Icasa should open up 6GHz for Wi-Fi

    27 May 2022

    Musk sued by Twitter investors for stock ‘manipulation’

    27 May 2022
    Add A Comment

    Comments are closed.

    Promoted

    Financial advisers: manage your commission and analyse revenue effortlessly

    27 May 2022

    BT, MTN Business form strategic alliance in Africa

    26 May 2022

    Think like a start-up: how to build a competitive digital enterprise

    26 May 2022
    Opinion

    A proposed solution to crypto’s stablecoin problem

    19 May 2022

    From spectrum to roads, why fixing SA’s problems is an uphill battle

    19 April 2022

    How AI is being deployed in the fight against cybercriminals

    8 April 2022

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2022 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.