Porsche working on ultrafast charging system, invites Tesla and Mercedes

By Bruce Brown Published October 4, 2016

Railroads did not have great success until the major lines agreed to a standard rail gauge. Electric car companies will need universal access to standardized charging systems. In that light, it is no surprise that Porsche wants to work with Tesla, Mercedes-Benz, and other manufacturers and suppliers in developing an ultrafast charging infrastructure, according to Electrek and Top Gear.

If Porsche wanted to keep it all in the family, in this case meaning shared only with other members of the Volkswagen Group, that would be shortsighted. The company could focus on a standard usable only by Porsche’s Mission E, Audi’s e-tron quattro, and the new Volkswagen I.D. concept car as well as other all-electric vehicles that will be debuting from Volkswagen Group members during the next five to 10 years. But limiting its charging systems to house brand cars would be self-defeating. It would be the equivalent of requiring that your gas engine cars run on a fuel that customers could only buy from your fueling stations. No one does that.

Recommended Videos

Porsche CEO Oliver Blume told Top Gear, “We are in contact with other manufacturers and suppliers around the world to build a fast-charging network. Everybody has the same need. It sounds easy but getting the details agreed is hard. We already have the clear technical concept. It can even work with Teslas, with an adapter.”

When Top Gear spoke with Mercedes head Dieter Zetsche about Porsche’s charging network, he said, “We are in talks with them.”

Porsche’s 800-volt charging system is almost twice as fast as Tesla’s 450-volt Superchargers, but Tesla has been open about letting other companies use its network, currently the largest in the world.

In the next few years, it is clear we will see many developments in charging stations. When you can fill up your car’s gas tank in minutes, the goal down the road is an equivalent experience with electric cars. Even with its 800-volt system, Porsche states it will take 15 minutes to charge the Mission E’s battery pack to 80 percent.

As long as charging adapters are available for different vehicle charging ports, all manufacturers will benefit from access to each others charging networks.

Former Contributing Editor

Bruce Brown Contributing Editor As a Contributing Editor to the Auto teams at Digital Trends and TheManual.com, Bruce…

Topics

Cars

Order an Uber and a self-driving Mustang might show up

Electronics, Phone, Mobile Phone

Ordering an Uber in London could come with a surprise today. Instead of a conventional car and driver pulling up, you might find a Ford Mustang Mach-E that can drive itself. Uber has launched London's first public robotaxi service in partnership with British autonomous driving company Wayve. The service is available through the Uber app, meaning you don't need to download anything new or book a special type of ride to try it.

There is one important caveat. Although the cars will handle the driving themselves, a trained safety operator will initially sit behind the wheel, ready to intervene if necessary. Fully driverless rides are planned for a later stage. The launch fleet consists of electric Mustang Mach-Es equipped with cameras, radar, and Wayve's AI Driver technology. These systems give the vehicle a 360-degree view of what's happening around it. And if anywhere can put that technology through its paces, London seems like a pretty good candidate.

Cars

Range Rover Electric arrives with 543hp, 600km range, and a starting price of the moon

The electric Range Rover is here, and your wallet may need CPR

Range Rover EV

The Range Rover has never been shy about luxury, size or price, and its first fully electric version is carrying that tradition into the EV era. Jaguar Land Rover’s (JLR) first battery-electric Range Rover is now open for orders, starting at £154,070, or about $208,420. That makes it one of the most expensive electric SUVs on the market.

The electric model costs almost £50,000 more than the standard combustion-engine Range Rover. It is priced in the same territory as the electric Mercedes-Benz G 580 and not far from ultra-luxury gasoline SUVs such as the Bentley Bentayga.

Cars

A solar ambulance has successfully tackled 500 miles of difficult terrain

Stella Juva

For years, solar-powered vehicles have largely lived in the world of prototypes, university projects and ambitious demonstrations. Now, one has completed the kind of test that matters far more than a flashy concept reveal: it drove hundreds of miles through difficult terrain while carrying medical equipment and generating enough electricity to operate independently.

Called Stella Juva, the vehicle was developed by Solar Team Eindhoven, a group of 23 students from Eindhoven University of Technology and two other educational institutions. According to a CNN report, the team describes it as the world's first solar ambulance. Unlike a conventional ambulance, however, Stella Juva is designed less to rush patients to hospitals and more to bring medical care to people who cannot easily reach it.