Klaus Zellmer, CEO of Porsche’s North American subsidiary, believes that Tesla’s tech-riddled vehicles could have attracted customers who may have otherwise purchased a Porsche – but that should change when its much-anticipated all-electric Mission E goes on sale in 2019.
“We have lots of respect for Tesla – and, yes, I’m sure there are some Porsche customers, that in terms of connectivity, digital stuff in the car and electric battery in the vehicles, didn’t find the car that they wanted with Porsche so they bought somewhere else,” said Zellmer during a recent interview with CNBC.
Related: Porsche Mission E
First showcased as a concept at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show, the £100,000-ish Mission E features a two-motor setup, generating 590bhp and sending 663lb of torque straight to the rear wheels. A four-wheel-drive model is also said to be in the works, which is expected to be priced a little steeper.
Last month, the Mission E – codenamed Project J1 – entered the final phase of development: full-body prototype testing. Porsche is expected to wrap that up by March, leaving the rest of 2018 free for manufacturing and promotion, with a view to launching the vehicle in the first half of 2019.
Do you think the Porsche Mission E will be able to compete with the high-performance Tesla Model S P100D? Or do you think it will be marketed towards a different audience? Be sure to let us know over on Facebook or Twitter @TrustedReviews.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
