What happens next Where's my refund? Best CD rates this month Shop and save 🤑
CARS
Car Shows

Q&A: What does Porsche electric car mean for the luxury brand?

Porsche North America CEO Detlev von Platen speaks to USA TODAY at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

Kim Hjelmgaard
USA TODAY

At the Frankfurt Motor Show this week, Porsche unveiled a concept car that's a competitor to Tesla's Model S. The all-electric Mission E can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 3.5 seconds, has 600 horsepower and a top speed of 155 mph. It can be charged in 15 minutes.

The exact timing of Porsche's Mission E concept car is not clear, but Porsche has a history of using concept cars to preview technology that will eventually go into its production vehicles.

USA TODAY spoke with Porsche North America CEO Detlev von Platen about the new Mission E, how the company plans to compete with Tesla and what an updated 911 means for Porsche.

USA TODAY: Is it the right time for Porsche to focus on an electric car?

von Platen: It's the right time because we have reached a level of technology and confidence that we believe in the next several years is suitable to carry the badge of Porsche. We are very committed to it.

We have been working on this very intensively, on the technology, for a couple of years. What you see today (with the Mission E concept car) is the result of what we have learned over the last few years, especially in the racing department. This concept car is something that we can see coming to the market within the next five years.

Will Porsche be chasing some of the established electric-car players such as Tesla?

Not at all. We have doing our product development completely independently from what's going elsewhere. It's not a question of being first in the market or even second.

It's about being in the market when we believe it is the right time for us, and to be there with the best product. It's a question of timing, and a question of technology. We have said that we will not enter this space until we are satisfied we can carry the DNA of Porsche in terms of performance.

It needs to be driven as a Porsche, we wanted a specific range (above 500 km, about 300 miles) and the charging time (of less than 15 minutes) was also very important.

Will Porsche eventually phase out gas and diesel cars?

I don't think it will happen that quickly. If you look at independent surveys, there is a point where cars based on plug-in and hybrid technology will increase at some point in the future, but I still think we are talking about a horizon of ten to 15 years.

Today, hybrid cars represent less than 3% of the market. It doesn't depend only on the technology, it also depends on the willingness of consumers as well as regulators (in respect of emissions requirements). And it needs to be accepted by the market.

Are Porsche customers ready for an electric car?

Our customers are very keen on different types of technology as long as we keep the values of Porsche alive. Meaning: A car that is able to perform on a racetrack and also capable of being driven every day. That's what makes Porsche different.

We are a sports car manufacturer that offers strong performance. There is no point bringing a technology to the market, for us, if it doesn't represent what we stand for. In the last few years, we have been able to adopt new technologies — such as a plug-in hybrid — while keeping our values.

Porsche says it consistently reinvents its iconic 911. How do you do that?

That's our special secret. The Porsche 911 was introduced in Frankfurt for the first time in 1963. When you look at the 911 today you would say it's basically the same idea behind it.

A very typical flyline (what the roof looks like), the engine is still in the back of the car and it's still seen as a reference point for all sports cars. Our engineers are constantly fighting to make sure this car stays very true to the initial idea where you can drive from home to the racetrack and have agility, performance, reliability, and then drive home.

How many sports cars can do that? Porsche has made sure this car has stayed modern. Our principles stay very authentic.

This is an edited interview of a conversation USA TODAY had with Platen at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

Featured Weekly Ad