From the very beginning, Porsche pursued the vision of producing an all-electric vehicle that would be carbon neutral across the entire value chain. With the Porsche Taycan, the sports car manufacturer has demonstrated that sustainability and dynamic driving need not be mutually exclusive. The new plant built for the electric sports car in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen has been carbon-neutral since 2020, with the production site in Leipzig and the development centre in Weissach following suit at the beginning of 2021.
Sustainability characterises the whole range of elements within product. In the interior, for example, individual vehicle components are made of recycled materials. Porsche is also committed to the use of green electricity in the expansion of the charging infrastructure. All charging operations with the Porsche Charging Service are already carbon-neutral. Moreover, the company’s direct battery cell suppliers have been required to use green electricity since 2020. Direct suppliers for new vehicle projects have been required to use green power in the production of Porsche components since mid-2020.
Of the six billion euros that Porsche is investing in electric mobility by 2022, more than 700 million euros go into the construction of new production facilities for the Taycan. Parallel to the tightly balanced production of sports cars – with 250 Series 911 and 718 automobiles, more vehicles leave the plant than ever before – a new factory is being built in the existing factory in Zuffenhausen.
Porsche pays the highest attention to sustainability in all its aspects. Production on the site is CO₂-neutral, the energy-efficient buildings are well below the statutory energy requirements, all roofs of the new buildings are landscaped and partly equipped with photovoltaic systems. The electrical energy used at Porsche comes from renewable sources. Biogas-powered combined heat and power plants supply the site with heat and additional electricity. Increasingly electrified logistics vehicles and rail transport powered by green electricity reduce CO₂ emissions in logistics. Added to this there are a host of other measures, with which Porsche is pursuing the goal of the “Zero-Impact-Factory”, a production without environmental influences.
Sustainability is one of the three pillars of the Porsche Production 4.0: smart, lean and green are the buzz words for the modern production methods of the sports car manufacturer. In addition to the ecological aspects (green) and the responsible and efficient use of resources (lean), Porsche Production 4.0 stands out for its transparency and networking (smart). People continue to be at the center of production. Modern technologies facilitate their work and support their craft.
The step into electric mobility is a job engine for the company: The Taycan and its CUV off shoot Taycan Cross Turismo will create 1,500 additional jobs. At the same time, the sports car manufacturer is establishing an unprecedented qualification initiative, in which the topic of electric mobility at Porsche is introduced to Porsche employees. All employees are offered a four-day qualification program in addition to extensive e-learning opportunities. For the colleagues which are directly involved in the production of the Taycan a multi-week training is planned.
