Porsche CEO Oliver Blume has revealed that the company is planning to set up a battery cell manufacturing facility in Germany in an attempt to speed up its e-mobility drive, Automotive News reports. The site where the factory will be built is in the Swabian town of Tuebingen.
Blume initially told German newspaper, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, that “battery cells are a key technology for Germany’s automobile industry which we must also have in our own country.” He also added that “Porsche wants to play a pioneering role in this.”
This comes after reports saying European carmakers are looking to reduce dependence on Asian manufacturers for electric car components. Currently, many major automakers source batteries from Chinese battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited (CATL), which is investing US$5.1 billion (RM20.88 billion) into setting up a new EV battery factory in Indonesia.
Porsche, meanwhile, sources the Taycan’s battery pack from German supplier Dräxlmaier, located near Stuttgart. Dräxlmaier’s customer base also includes Audi, BMW, Jaguar, Land Rover, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, MINI, and Volkswagen.
In the near future, the report states that Porsche will be purchasing battery packs from its parent company Volkswagen Group, which has plans to build at least half a dozen battery cell plants across Europe.
“But there will also be a segment for high-performance battery cells,” Blume said. “It’s a Porsche domain. Just as we developed high-performance internal combustion engines, we now want to be at the forefront of high-performance batteries.”
Besides being at the top of its game, Porsche’s development chief, Michael Steiner told Automotive News Europe earlier this month that existing battery suppliers are focusing on volume. This means more specialised orders such as Porsche’s are falling to the back of the line.
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