How is a sports car manufacturer such as Porsche embracing a sustainable future?
Over the next five years, Porsche will invest €15 billion (Dh64.6 billion) in electric mobility, sustainable production and digital transformation so that 80 per cent of Porsches will be either electric or hybrid by 2030 when we also plan to be carbon neutral in products and operations.
As the next step in Porsche’s electromobility journey, we will launch an all-electric version of our best-selling Macan SUV in 2023.
It’s important to remember that a Porsche will always be a Porsche in how it stirs emotions, the way it looks, feels and drives. Our fully electric Taycan has not only a low-level driving position similar to the 911, it’s a Porsche through and through.
On a regional level, what has your organisation done so far?
We embrace sustainability and are pushing ahead in several directions. We successfully launched our first ever fully electric model, the Taycan, last year and welcomed the Taycan Cross Turismo in spectacular fashion to enhance the awareness of our electric offering.
Our fully electric Taycan has not only a low-level driving position similar to the 911, it’s a Porsche through and through.
EXPO 2020 is offering us a window into a sustainable future. What are your plans for the next few years?
Firstly, the UAE Government is doing an amazing job by making the future of mobility a pillar of EXPO 2020 and investing in a public charging infrastructure for electric vehicles as part of its sustainability and carbon reduction strategies.
So far, we have 312 Porsche chargers on the grid across the region with more than 240 to follow till end of next year. Moreover, we are strategically investing in high-power charging networks with the first project entering its final phase – a significant milestone for electrification in the UAE and beyond.
You seem to have a solid business plan for the future. How has Porsche performed in sales so far this year?
The first half of 2021 has been very encouraging with demand spread across the range and resulted in our best performance since 2016, including the best result for the 911 since 2017. This shows that despite the popularity of our four-door models, two-door sportscars still enjoy great momentum with one in five Porsches sold being a two-door.
The Macan had its best half-year performance since it was launched in 2014, while the Taycan recorded almost 300 deliveries, an extremely positive performance for our first all-electric sports car.
