Very few would think of Porsche when electric vehicles is mentioned, especially since the long-awaited Porsche Taycan isn’t on sale yet; but the maker of the 911 has been actively laying the groundwork.
Just a few months after the launch of its Porsche Charging Service, the company is expanding the service for plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles by five countries and has added a host of new functions. The platform now has over 49,000 charging points in twelve countries across Europe.
Alongside Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium and Finland, the charging service is now also available in Norway, France and Spain. Great Britain and Italy will follow shortly.
One new feature offered by Porsche Charging Service is a rating function. This indicates when a vehicle was last charged at a charging station, and also lets users know how up-to-date and reliable the information is for the respective charging point. For better planning of charging operations, the daily capacity utilisation of the charging station is also shown.
In addition, the user interface in the mobile app and the navigation function have been improved. After selecting a charging point, it is now easier to switch to navigation via Google Maps, whether on a smartphone or via Apple CarPlay in the vehicle, Porsche says.
Porsche Charging Service was launched in May 2018. The service searches for suitable charging stations and performs invoicing via centrally stored payment details. It is therefore not necessary to register with different providers. This takes place across the covered countries at a guaranteed unit price per market and independent of currency. The free app and Porsche navigation system guides customers to the selected charging point.
Information on the location and availability of charging stations and on the price for vehicle charging are available in real-time. At the charging station, user identification takes place either by QR code (via the app) or with the Porsche ID Card, which users receive free of charge after registering for the service.
In Germany, the fee for using the Porsche Charging Service is €2.50 (RM11.45) per month. The costs for actual charging come on top of this, and it depends on the provider as well as the amount of power used. The service is available to all drivers of hybrid or EVs and is not limited to Porsches.
On another note, the Taycan will be coming to Malaysia in 2020. Zuffenhausen’s first full EV will be available in three variants, namely the Taycan, Taycan 4S and Taycan Turbo – the latter won’t have an actual turbo, of course, but the name is to mark it out as the range topper. The Taycan will have two motors for a total system output of over 600 PS (440 kW), good for a 0-100 km/h time of below 3.5 seconds. A range of 500 km has been mentioned.
GALLERY: Mark Webber tests the Porsche Taycan
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Can other car brands use Porsche charging there?
Most bolehlanders can’t spell Porsche or pronounce it.