The VW Group has been tepidly testing the waters of alt-powertrains for a few years, with each of its three core brands – Audi, Porsche, and Volkswagen – playing with hybrids and EVs. Now it's starting to get serious, and that includes electric and hydrogen-powered Porsches.
Ahead of the VW Group's annual conference, Ulrich Hackenberg, VAG's R&D boss, dropped in a slide during his presentation showing the automaker's past and future plans for "stages of electrification".
For Audi, it started with the Q5 hybrid and now the R8 etron and forthcoming electric Q7. It's now looking to add a fuel-cell electric vehicle (FCEV) to the list. Volkswagen is on a similar track, likely using its MQB platform for a FCEV, while Porsche is planning two new models that will run solely on electricity.
The slide outlines a battery electric vehicle and a FCEV slated for future release. Porsche isn't saying exactly what shape these two models will take, but earlier reports indicate an electric sedan/five-door to take on the Tesla Model S, possibly similar to the Sport Turismo concept.
What platform it will use is up in the air, but VW's large, modular platforms have been developed from the onset to accommodate a range of different powertrains, including internal combustion, plug-in hybrid, battery-electric or hydrogen fuel-cells.
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