Porsche's Tesla rival on course for 2019

The Tesla rival will be a production version of the Mission E Concept.

The Tesla rival will be a production version of the Mission E Concept.

Published Jul 27, 2016

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Stuttgart, Germany - Porsche pushing ahead with its answer to the Tesla Model S, recently announcing that it would boost the number of jobs created by its first all-electric model by more than half from previous targets.

The new car, due in 2019, will be a production version of the Mission E concept , and it'll be blindingly quick too, with a projected 0-100km/h acceleration time of under 3.5 seconds, while managing a range of over 500km on a single charge under more efficient driving conditions.

The project is part of Volkswagen's push to overcome its emissions scandal by embracing zero-emission cars and digital services. Porsche will build the battery car at its Zuffenhausen base and in addition to the 1400 jobs it creates, another 350 digital experts are to be hired at a Porsche unit specifically set up to develop mobility concepts and uncover new business areas.

The Mission E implies a sea change at Porsche, it labour boss Uwe Hueck told reporters at a briefing on Tuesday. "You either take part in the digital change or you lose."

Although Porsche is attracting more than 140 000 job applications per year and tops various employer rankings, the manufacturer is struggling to attract the sort of smart brains also being wooed by rival carmakers, suppliers and IT firms.

"I'm not denying that the battle for talent is tough," human resources chief Andreas Haffner said, noting plans to expand the digital unit to Silicon Valley and China.

Hueck declined to specify production targets for the Mission E, but said Porsche needs to sell at least 10 000 of a model per year to make a profit.

Porsche prefers to use battery technology from Stuttgart-based Robert Bosch GmbH and would handle final assembly of the battery systems, said Hueck, who sits on VW's supervisory board.

VW Chief Executive Matthias Mueller has said Wolfsburg-based VW is weighing plans to start its own battery production as part of the group's repositioning, with an engine plant in Salzgitter and a component factory in Braunschweig vying for electric-car orders.

Reuters & IOL

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