2017 Geneva Motor Show: Mission E to spawn electric Porsche range

Porsche’s Mission E all-electric Tesla fighter could spawn an electric high performance family as the brand looks to capitalise on its investment in a new vehicle architecture and battery technology.

Speaking at the 2017 Geneva motor show, Porsche CEO Oliver Blume confirmed the company was considering other options to spin off the bespoke Mission E platform that positions batteries along its floor.

“We will start with the Mission E, but there are more and more options,” said Blume. “We can do a lot because we have a flat battery structure and this flat battery structure we can think about various options you can do with this technology.

“For us it is the first step but we will think about the second and third step.”

An obvious choice would be an electric SUV, possibly providing a petrol-free alternative to the Porsche Macan or Cayenne.

SUV sales are booming globally and in some countries – including the United States – they comfortably outsell regular passenger cars. In February 2017 official sales figures showed the Australian market hit a milestone, with SUVs outgunning passenger cars for the first time.

Blume also didn’t rule out a dedicated electric sports car.

“There are a lot of options for future,” he said. “The first step is Mission E. With experience then you can think about everything.”

However, he said anything in that electric space would not impact the existing sports car models, suggesting the two could co-exist in a broad future model strategy.

Blume said it was “the most important thing” for the brand to ensure it continues its heritage with cars such as the 911 and with combustion engines that have formed the heart of them.

“What we will do always in combination between combustion engines … and electric cars.”

Blume said Porsche is thinking a decade or more into the future about how electric and hybrid cars will mix with the more traditional models.

“Last year we had a very big activity to build our Porsche strategy, so called 2025. And one important pillar to this strategy is the product strategy,” he said.

“We don’t think only about the year 2020, we think about the year 2025 and 2030.

“We have a very detailed cycle plan of what we want to do and this cycle plan also has flexibility.”