Porsche's first EV sports car

Porsche announced in June 2018 that it will name its first electric vehicle theTaycanannounced that it would be "the first of its kind in the world. As of this past June, "Production starts in 2019, coming into Japan in 2020?I wondered what the current situation surrounding Taikan was like, and decided to do a little research.

Mission E announced

As Porsche's first 4-door EV sports concept car, the "Mission Ewas announced at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2015. And in December of the same year, thePorsche headquarters has officially decided to make the Mission E commercially available.

Subsequently, Porsche announced that it would expand its headquarters plant in Zuffenhausen, Germany, for the production of the Mission E, creating approximately 1,200 new jobs.Porsche's investment in EV development amounts to more than 6 billion eurosThe company was considered to be a "good" company.

Almost three years later, in June 2018, theMission E was officially named "Taycan".The name "Taycan" is based on the image of the prancing horse in the center of the Porsche Crest.A young horse full of lifeIt means "the best of the best". It took two years for the marketing team to find out how well it fits with the existing lineup, to check the linguistic semantics in each country, and to confirm the trademark.

Basic Specifications of Taikan

The basic specifications of Taikan known at this time are as follows.

The powertrain includes two electric motors with a maximum output of over 600 hp, the same type as the "919 Hybrid" that won the Le Mans 24-hour race.
*The 2017 lap time on the North Course of the Nürburgring in Germany was recorded at 8 minutes. Porsche is aiming to set a record for the fastest mass-produced electric vehicle on the track.
Acceleration from 0-100km/h in 3.5 seconds and from 0-200km/h in the 11-second range, with room for further improvement.
・Cruising range of one full charge is more than 530 km
The 800V battery system is twice the capacity of conventional EVs, and when plugged into a 350kW fast charging station, the battery can be charged for 100km in just 4 minutes.

The Taikan uses an innovative 800V battery system, which was one of the very important decisions in its development. This is because the voltage level of 800 V is "theBecause it has a significant impact on the overall design of the EV car's drivetrain, from the layout of the battery and electronics to the capacity of the charging process.".

The liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery installed in the car is the result of Porsche's continuous participation in motorsports and the technological innovations that have been made in a fiercely competitive environment.When Porsche enters Formula E in the 2019/2020 season, it will offer an even newer level of technologyI'm not a fan of the idea," Porsche said.

In addition, a new and different production line will be used to manufacture the Taikan. Porsche will use a new production line called "Became the first automaker to introduce and use unmanned transportation systems in line productionHe said, "We are committed to the environment. The company also pursues environmentally friendly production and ultimately "Establish a factory that is completely environmentally friendly.They are trying to achieve the "one and only" goal.

On top of that, Porsche said, "More than 50% of Porsche models shipped after 2025 will be electrifiedHe predicts that "the

Human Resource Development in EV Cars

To produce taikan.Porsche hired 1,200 new employees.but this is said to be the largest job creation in Porsche's history. However, the purpose of the development and production of the Taikan at Porsche is "toTo form a healthy team with a combination of experienced sports car manufacturing staff and new staffNot all of the 1,200 newly hired workers will be involved in the production of the Taikan, as some of them will be involved in the production of the two-door sports car.

Porsche also offers extensive training for personnel development in a specially constructed production hall in Zuffenhausen. There, more than 1,400 training units for electric vehicle development are available, as well as a digital learning platform that allows staff to study independently and according to their own needs.

Improvement of charging infrastructure

Because the Taikan's fast charging process requires a powerful charging system, Porsche isIONITY, a joint venture between BMW, Daimler, Ford, and Volkswagen, to install 400 charging stations in Europe by 2020They are working on a plan.

The stations have a maximum output of 350 kilowatts and take an average of only 5 to 8 minutes to fully charge. According to a map of the proposed installation site released by the company in February of this year19 European countries, from northern Norway to Spain and Italy.It seems.

Expected price range and reservations for Taikan

Robert Meyer, head of development at Taikan, said.I'm going to set the price of the Taikan somewhere between the Cayenne and the Panamera."He said. Based on the price of both models in Germany, including taxes, it is likely to be between 74,828 euros (9,660,000 yen) and 90,655 euros (11,700,000 yen).

As for the grades, there will be three: the "Taikan," "Taikan 4S," and "Taikan Turbo. The highest grade is currently the "Taikan Turbo," but of course, since it is an EV, it is not equipped with a turbocharger.

In addition, orders for pre-orders have been very strong.Porsche CEO Oliver Blum has already revealed plans to increase production.The initial production volume of the Taikan was set at 20,000 units per year, but it is now possible that this could be raised to 30,000 units together with the "Cross Turismo" model.

Looking specifically at the demand for electric vehicles, there is a high demand for electric vehiclesPorsche's annual new car sales in Norway have so far been about 600 units.But shortly after the launch of Taikan's pre-order site, theA whopping 3,000 customers paid their deposits.Right. One Norwegian reservationist apparently told us that he applied to reserve the Taikan for a more performance-focused car because he felt his beloved Tesla Model S was too biased toward family cars.

The reaction is similar in the U.S., too, according to Klaus Zellmer, CEO of Porsche U.S.A., Inc.If everyone who pre-ordered buys, the first year's production is already sold out.I'm very happy to be here," he told "CNET.

In Japan?

In Japan, the infrastructure for charging systems is not as well developed as in Europe, so it may be unlikely that the Taikan will be immediately accepted as in Europe, but I still see a certain number of Teslas on the streets, so it could certainly become a Tesla competitor. It will probably come into Japan in 2020, but I wonder how many slots will be allocated to each dealer.

If you have a test drive vehicle available, I would love to be able to test drive it.

Article and image source:.
＊Porsche's first EV sports car, the "Taikan" (Mission E)! We take a closer look at the whole story!
＊Porsche's first electric car, the Taikan, is priced between the Cayenne and Panamera
＊Porsche's first EV "Taikan" is selling well. If all reservation customers buy it, the first year's production will be sold out.
＊Porsche definitively enters the electric era with the Taycan
＊IONITY, a joint venture venture of BMW and Daimler, installs its first charging station in Germany.