As climate change becomes a top priority across the world, consumers are changing their buying habits. One of the most dramatic shifts has been in the motoring sector with car brands developing electric vehicles (EVs) to meet the growing demand for sustainability. Last year, sales of EVs were up almost 40% globally Moving to an all-electric car makes a lot of sense both environmentally and financially and many motorists are already reaping the rewards. Others are keen to find out more about EVs and tackle any concerns they have about going electric.
Range anxiety
One of the biggest myths is battery life and fears of not having enough power to complete your journey.
However, electric batteries are now far more sophisticated than ever before, allowing EVs to travel much further on a single charge. For example, Porsche’s new all-electric sports car the Taycan can be driven for 434 km on a single charge.
When you consider the maximum width of Singapore is about 50 km wide, you could drive from one side of the country to the other more than eight times on a single charge. That long-range would also allow for a daily commute into Singapore’s Central Business District (CBD) for the whole week.
The Taycan symbolises Porsche’s new era of electric mobility. The five-door sports sedan encapsulates driving in its most electrifying form. In fact, the name Taycan has Turkic origins, meaning “soul of a spirited young horse”. In Japanese, the word taikan means roughly “physical experience”. Both meanings perfectly sum up the Taycan’s all-electric driving DNA.
Battery life
Another outdated concern of EV ownership is the total life of the car’s battery. Modern electric batteries now last much longer as technology continues to improve their performance, safety and longevity.
To underline this, Taycans purchased from an official Porsche dealership now come with an eight-year battery warranty.
Charging infrastructure
While battery life and performance have improved, so too have charging networks and infrastructure. With more EVs on our roads, governments and car manufactures are building more charging stations to cater for the demand.
Porsche is working with a number of partners to provide more charging stations for EV owners. One partnership is with Shell, which will create six high performance charging stations equipped with 180 kW direct-current (DC) chargers — offering the highest charging capacity across Singapore and Malaysia.
On top of these, there are currently about 1,600 public charging points available across Singapore, with government plans to install another 60,000 charging points by 2030.
Alongside these public charging points, Porsche offers complimentary charging equipment which can be installed at a customer’s home or office by a certified specialist. Alternatively, you could check the Porsche Charging Pre-Check list to find out which charging solution suits you (details available at https://bit.ly/PorscheChargingPreCheck).
Fast charging
The Taycan is the first production vehicle with a system voltage of 800 volts instead of the usual 400 volts for electric cars. This means much faster charging times. Under optimal conditions at 800 volts, the Taycan battery can be re-charged for a range of up to 100 km in just over five minutes.
Under these fast-charging conditions, an empty battery can be charged from 5% up to 80% in just 22.5 minutes. There is also an onboard charger which has a maximum charging capacity of 11 kW. This is a particular advantage for Taycan drivers on the road.
Safety concerns
Battery safety and overheating is another issue that has been addressed with the Taycan. The rear-wheel-drive sports sedan’s battery has a complex cooling system to make sure its high voltage and battery temperatures are heated up and cooled down as required. The battery is well protected and located in the underbody of the Taycan. The new all-electric Porsche offers a choice of two battery sizes — Performance Battery and Performance Battery Plus.
Pure Porsche
While it is the first of its kind, the new Tay- can is still a genuine Porsche. The beautifully designed sports car features the typical Porsche bodyline, and is aerodynamically optimised with active air intake flaps and an adaptive rear spoiler. You can hardly tell this is an all-electric vehicle.
In true Porsche fashion, the Taycan represents pure emotion and extreme driving pleasure. With launch control, it can accelerate from 0 to 100 kph in 5.4 seconds and reach a top speed of 230 kph.
The Taycan Turbo S can get from 0 to 100 kph in 2.8 seconds. The car is helped by its lightweight body which is a fully galvanised steel-aluminum-hybrid. Designed to reduce weight, it also provides an excellent level of crash safety.
The Taycan was conceived as a purely electric sports car from the beginning to bring Porsche into a new automotive era. With its impressive driving range, advanced battery and quick charging capabilities, this all-electric sports car is bound to convert a new army of motorists to the joys of owning an EV.
Photos: Porsche
