Porsche targets 20,000 EV sales per year

Volkswagen’s Porsche division expects annual sales of about 20,000 for its first all-electric car, the Mission E.

It is slated to hit the market in 2019.

Porsche, the second-largest contributor to VW’s group profit, plans to create at least 1400 jobs to develop, build and sell its rival to Tesla’s Model S.

That includes 900 production jobs, 300 salaried workers and 200 engineers. Additionally, the company plans to hire another 350 “digital experts” to work on new concepts for the company.

Mission E was showcased as a concept at the 2015 Frankfurt Auto Show before receiving the go-ahead for production in December 2015.

The car is set to offer 600 horsepower and it should be be able to accelerate from 0-100kph in 3.5 seconds. It has a projected top speed of over 250kmh.

“We have calculated a quantity in the order of about 20,000 for the Mission E,” Porsche chief executive Oliver Blume told German magazine, Automobilwoche.

Porsche council chairman Uwe Hueck declined to specify production targets for the Mission E in July, but said at the time that Porsche needs to sell at least 10,000 of a model per year to make a profit.

US electric car specialist Tesla had total vehicle deliveries of 50,580 in 2015.