Porsche has just commissioned its first charging station in Germany, with terminals up to 300 kW. And above all a lounge to rest when the car is loading.
Electric charging stations may flourish all over the roadside, in France and elsewhere, the model still remains to be entirely invented. We feel that most of them seem to come out of the ground in a hurry, without having been thought out in their operation, to follow as best they can sales of electric vehicles which continue to increase. And which even exceeded in June 2023, for the first time in Europe, the sales of diesel vehicles.
How to explain in fact that so many charging stations do not even allow electric motorists to plug in without being totally soaked in the event of rain? Even Tesla, yet at the forefront in terms of the number of Supercharger stations and territory coverage, continues to offer stations whose ground is in the ground, sometimes in places where we would not frankly have stopped instinctively.
Porsche, for its part, has just opened its very first station of a new kind. A fast charging network which is in its infancy, but which already has enough to make those more than one and more than one jealous.
Up to 400kW
If the first Porsche Charging Lounge has one thing in common with the Tesla Superchargers, it is that it is two minutes from the nearest motorways, and not on a motorway service area. At Tesla, we justify this by explaining that it diverts the journey of those who are on the highway to a minimum, and it also allows people who are not driving on it to be able to access it.
Inaugurated on July 26, the first Porsche Charging Lounge is located in Bingen am Rhein, at the junction of the A60 and A61 motorways. Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, this very first place offers six fast terminals, in direct current DC, offering up to 300 kW of charging speed. And four AC alternating current charging points, with 22 kW. Electricity from renewable sources as Porsche explains, with charging speed from the beginning of next year which could increase to 400 kW. We are well beyond Superchargers, even V4, and their 250 kW!
Great luxury
But beyond these technical characteristics, this pilot resort in Bingen am Rhein above all offers Porsche customers the opportunity to relax in a luxurious setting. And this is where the Stuttgart firm stands out from the others: the terminals are protected by a welcome awning in the event of bad weather, itself connected to a building offering what Porsche calls “a charging room”.
On the menu, a lounge with toilets, a choice of drinks (non-alcoholic), the possibility of accessing Wi-Fi and analogue and digital media… And for the driver who needs to get his health back, there is even a “smart mirror” that offers to do exercises!
Wood, large bay windows: on the design side, Porsche plays the Zen space card. While the German manufacturer has also been careful to use fossil fuels as little as possible: photovoltaic panels on the roof can supply part of the installation, and a heat pump takes care of the air conditioning. And when there is no one, the light automatically dims inside.
Porsche customers only
Obviously, nothing that is made available to Porsche customers is free. Neither the drinks, which can be paid for by Apple Pay or Google Pay, nor the car charge. However, despite a certain standard made available, Porsche has not decided to blow up prices, on the contrary: count 33 cents per kWh. So in the average of what is practiced at Superchargers. And even rather cheaper than Ionity, of which Porsche is nevertheless a partner.
Yes, except that to access it, the condition sine qua nonis to have a Porsche ID. So to drive a Porsche. And there is no question for the moment of opening these facilities to other brands.
For the time being, electric Porsches are not yet numerous on the roads since there is only the Taycan, although the model is available in three bodies (sedan, station wagon, adventurer station wagon) which must be multiplied by the number of different “engines”. That’s no less than 14 different Taycans, anyway.
But very soon it is the electric Macan which will land on the market, promising to democratize the electric within the brand. Enough to fill the next Porsche Charging Lounge planned in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. And try to reach the objective by 2030 of selling at least 80% of cars in 100% electric.
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