Porsche has a strategy to gradually electrify its line-up of vehicles so that by 2030, electric vehicles would account for 80% of sales and the legendary 911 will be the only internal combustion engine model left, according to an executive of the company.  

Due to the German luxury automaker’s investment in e-fuels and efforts to have the EU permit sales of such vehicles beyond 2035, its ambitions have drawn the attention of many people, including environmentalists.

Porsche is perceived as being strongly tied with e-fuels due to an investment in Chilean energy provider HIF Global, despite not previously having stated aspirations to eventually have just one combustion-engine model.

According to Porsche e-fuels project chief Karl Dums, the carmaker will electrify its small SUV Macan first, then the 718 sports vehicle, and finally the best-selling Cayenne. The 911 is the outlier, with 13% of sales in 2022.

“Our strategy in the first place is switching to electric mobility and … we will produce the 911 as long as possible with a combustion engine,” Dums said.

He said that Porsche’s e-fuel investment and EV aspirations are independent.

E-fuel’s makers claim that it is carbon-neutral because it is made from hydrogen that is produced from renewable resources and carbon dioxide that has been absorbed.

Given that passenger cars will almost entirely transition to electric, Dums added, HIF Global’s e-fuel is primarily geared towards the aviation sector and big trucks.

Only specialised, expensive models will use e-fuels, according to business and automotive specialists. Considering that major automakers have already invested $1.2 trillion in electrification, it is likely that they won’t produce any new e-fuel vehicles after 2035.

According to Pitchbook, e-fuel businesses that are primarily focused on aviation fuel have generated less than $1 billion in financing.

Ferrari, like Porsche, sought for an EU e-fuels exemption; the exemption has not yet been finalised, but Ferrari maintains that by 2030, 80% of its vehicles will be electric or hybrid.

Many smaller automakers are also interested in selling high-end, high-performance e-fuel vehicles to those who can afford the pricey gasoline, which can currently cost up to 10 pounds ($12.90) per litre.

The exterior of the four-wheel cars sold for over $100,000 by Morgan Motor Co., which are handcrafted in Malvern, England, hasn’t changed much since World War Two.

According to CEO Massimo Fumarola, Morgan, which is owned by the European private equity group Investindustrial, produced about 600 automobiles last year and is expanding into the American market.

Morgan will introduce an electric vehicle later this decade, but according to Fumarola, many consumers will still desire combustion-engine vehicles that are fuelled by e-fuel after 2035.

Single-seater race vehicles made by the Liverpool-based Briggs Automotive Company (BAC) often cost over 350,000 pounds. Although it only produces one or two automobiles every month, Germany is one of the many new markets it is entering.

Customers of BAC have little interest in EVs, according to Chairman Mike Flewitt.

(Adapted from FlipBoard.com)