A luxury German car maker has revealed its latest electric model will benefit from one of the most convenient new features added to EVs.
Porsche has announced its new £100,000-plus Cayenne Electric will be available with a wireless charging pad, which is claimed to be the first manufacturer-supported inductive charging system to hit the market.
Officially called Porsche Wireless Charger (PWC), it provides improved charging speeds over a conventional 7kW domestic wallbox, offering up to 11kW.
The pad can be placed on a driveway, in a car port or located in a garage. And it will work during the UK’s winter months, with it capable of operating during temperatures from as low as -40 degrees Celsius (and up to 50 degrees in the summer) and isn’t impacted by rainwater or debris, such as leaves and snow.
But to have this handy feature will cost owners a pretty penny…
How does Porsche’s Wireless Charger work?
For the laziest of EV owners, Porsche’s new system will be a dream.
It is incredibly simple to activate.
When owners of the new Cayenne Electric drive towards the charging pad, the car’s infotainment screen will automatically provide a bird’s-eye camera view of the vehicle’s position in relation to the pad.
Gridlines on the display are overlaid on the floor – provided by the forward- facing camera – to guide drivers to line-up perfectly with the pad to allow charging to commence.
Once the user gets confirmation from the Cayenne that it is parked in an appropriate position to receive charge from the pad, the vehicle’s air suspension automatically lowers the car by a few centimetres.
This allows for the magnetic field built into the Cayenne’s floor to connect with the pad so that charging can begin.
Porsche estimates that around 75 per cent of all charging processes in an all-electric Porsche take place at owners’ homes.
This means ‘potential for inductive charging is correspondingly great,’ the German brand said.
The 6cm tall charging pad (which is 117cm long and 78cm wide) cannot be cemented into the floor of a garage or driveway, because doing so would obscure the sensors that communicate with the Cayenne’s cameras to provide the on-screen guidance to ensure they’re parked over the unit correctly.
However, once connected to the mains it is completely self-sufficient and owners do not need to have an ugly wallbox fitted to their properties.
The pad itself weighs 50kg and will still work even if you clumsily drive over it in your two-tonne electric SUV.
There are safety features built into it too, in case you were worried you might zap the neighbour’s cat when it sneaks into your garage and cosies up on the warm pad that’s sending energy to your luxury SUV’s battery.
If the system detects a foreign object, it will cut the magnetic charge field until it has moved off. When the moggie does decide to sleep elsewhere, the charging will recommence.
But this could mean owners find their Cayennes haven’t added as much overnight charge as they expected when they get into the car the next morning. Damn you, Mittens!
And because the system is also compatible with the My Porsche app, customers will be able to activate and stop charging manually using their smartphone.
They can also use the app to schedule charging times to make best use of cheap off-peak tariffs times and to precondition the vehicle – including warming the batteries and turning on the cabin heater in the winter, or adversely the air-con in summer – ahead of setting off on a journey.
How much does this all cost?
As you might expect, there is a cost associated to having this convenience feature.
And, given this is a Porsche, it’s pretty pricey.
All UK-spec Cayenne Electric will have the necessary wiring and hoses built into them to accept the 15kg, water-cooled charge receptor needed to accept wireless charging.
This is bolted under the vehicle’s floor to keep it protected from ‘adverse weather and stone chips’.
However, to have the feature installed will cost £2,000.
The charging pad itself in an additional £3,000, taking the grand total to £5,000.
That’s a big premium over a conventional 7kW homecharging wallbox, which typically costs between £800 to £1,200 including installation.
Some brands – including Ford, Volkswagen and Volvo – are even offering complimentary wallboxes when motorists purchase one of their EVs.
Unfortunately, another limitation is that the unit cannot receive software upgrades. Therefore, if Porsche were to launch a PWC with faster charging speeds, customers would need to purchase the new hardware.
The charging pad will be available next year to coincide with the Cayenne Electric going on sale.
The company’s flagship EV SUV will make its first public appearance next week at the Munich IAA Mobility Show.
Prices are expected to start around £140,000, with the top-spec Turbo versions providing up to 1,000hp.
Porsche isn’t the first to experiment with wireless charging solutions.
Volvo in 2022 provided charging pads in its native Gothenburg, Sweden, for a fleet of XC40 taxis while undertaking a trial.
And there have even been similar tests closer to home, with Connected Kerb running its own pilot scheme in parts of the UK two years earlier than Volvo.
