50% electric by 2025, says Porsche Canada

02 / 03 / 2020

By CSO Magazine - -

The Canadian office of the German car manufacturer Porsche has stated that half of its models will be electric by the year 2025.

In a TV interview with BNN Bloomberg, Marc Ouayoun, President and CEO, commented that, whilst remaining agile and aware of different markets’ requirements would remain part of the company’s strategy, the writing was on the wall.

“It’s clear within the next five years, we believe, that 50% of our cars will be electric,” he said. Porsche Canada’s line of thinking is congruous with national (and global) trends, which are in favour of developing EV infrastructure and phasing out petrol/diesel engines.

“A couple of years ago, we really thought about sports cars: how do we imagine our future because of new trends in sustainability, and we finally decided to go electric because that fits very well with the brand.”

Building the EV network

With one of the primary concerns regarding EVs remaining their battery range and the availability of charging points, several Canadian initiatives to develop infrastructure have emerged to address the problem.

One such initiative which has partnered with Porsche Canada is Electrify Canada (EC). Originally founded by Electrify America in collaboration with Volkswagen Canada, EC is dedicated to building ultra-fast EV charging stations across Canada.

Retailer Canadian Tire has also pledged to add roughly 300 charging points across its stores by 2021, with the government contributing CA$2.7mn to the construction costs.

Developments of this kind are vital – a 2019 survey by insurance company Go Compare estimated that there were approximately 24,000 EVs on Canadian roads, yet less than 6,000 charging stations across the country (a ratio of 4:1).

Offering an attractive charging option

Meanwhile, in Europe, Porsche has opened the continent’s largest and fastest EV charging park to date.

Featuring 16 charging points (12 x 350kW DC and four x 22kW AC), the company’s Porsche Turbo Charging station is part of expanding EV infrastructure in Germany.

“Electric and hybrid vehicles of all brands are welcome,” said Gerd Rupp, Chairman of Porsche Leipzig GmbH.

“We are pleased that with the new charging park we can offer an attractive charging option for electric vehicle owners in Leipzig and the surrounding area, as well as transit passengers.”