Electric Robotaxis Won’t Kill Sports Cars: Porsche CEO

Brand celebrates 70-year anniversary of first Porsche roadster
VW unit to launch first all-electric sports car next year

Porsche AG Panamera 4 E-Hybrid luxury automobiles are displayed in front of the luxury automobile maker's museum in Stuttgart, Germany, on Thursday, July 13, 2017. Volkswagen AG's Porsche brand faces a formal probe by German prosecutors as the diesel-emissions scandal spreads to VW's iconic sports-car maker.Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg

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By Christoph Rauwald

January 26, 2018 at 1:03 AM UTC

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Porsche AG will pursue a three-pronged strategy to diversify its lineup as the German manufacturer gears up for the rollout of its first all-electric sports car next year to tackle a fundamental industry shift toward battery-powered vehicles.

“There will be a triad: plug-in hybrids, emotional sports cars with combustion engines and sporty electric vehicles,” Chief Executive Officer Oliver Blume said Thursday evening at the Porsche museum in Stuttgart, Germany, celebrating the 70th anniversary of its first sports car, the 356. The roadster was manufactured in Gmuend, Austria, and marked the beginning of Porsche’s own vehicle production after the company previously provided engineering for other manufacturers.