China will redefine the automotive industry in the next decade

Reporter | Zhou Chunlin

At the 4th China International Import Expo, Porsche exhibited the rear-drive Taycan and Taycan 4S, the first pure electric sports car, with the theme of "Good Dream for the future", expressing its commitment to sustainable development in the zero-carbon era.                    

The Taycan has won more than 50 international awards, including the "World's Most Innovative Car", and its reappearance at the CIIE represents Porsche's commitment to  sustainability initiatives, social responsibility and innovative technology. Earlier, Porsche Chairman Obomu said: "Sustainability is not about speed, it is about responsibility. Every step along the way should count."

In fact, Porsche is the "originator" of electrification. Porsche's history can be traced back to 1900, the first year of the 19th century. Ferdinand Porsche, then only 25 years old was hired by the factory as a car designer, and he introduced the first two-seater sports car bearing the Porsche name, the Lohner Porsche, that year. The car is actually an electric car and was unveiled at the Paris World Expo that year.

From Lohner to Taycan, Porsche has always led the industry in technological innovation and sustainability. In the future, Porsche will also launch a pure electric version of the Macan in the Chinese market.Porsche has entered the Chinese market for 20 years, and its annual deliveries have increased from the initial 170 units to 88,968 units in 2020, and it has remained Porsche's largest single market in the world for six consecutive years.

Porsche's Chinese customer base is the largest in the world, with nearly 600,000 customers. In addition, Chinese customers are also different from other international market groups, their average age is around 35 years old.

Entering 2021, Porsche China's performance is still outstanding. In the first three quarters of this year, new car deliveries in China continued to remain Porsche's largest single market worldwide. For this market that contributes the most to its profits, Porsche should also actively promote the cause of localization here. In the context of the carbon-neutral era, in China, the world's largest new energy vehicle market, it has also become an important area to promote its sustainable development strategy.

Yan Boyu, president and CEO of Porsche China, revealed in an interview with Interface News that in addition to having 139 sales outlets in China, Porsche is continuing to pass on the sports car culture to Chinese customers.

In terms of localization, Porsche China has Porsche (Shanghai) Digital Technology Co., LTD., "our research and development branch in China will also be operational next year, which will help us better understand the needs of Chinese customers." Yan Boyu said.

In terms of carbon reduction, Porsche aims to achieve carbon neutrality across the value chain by 2030 by systematically avoiding or reducing carbon emissions through the launch of comprehensive energy conservation and emission reduction projects.

Since 2021, all major Porsche production sites, such as Zuffenhausen, Leipzig, and the Weissach R&D Center, have made their production processes carbon neutral. At the same time, Porsche has allocated more than €1 billion towards its carbon neutrality goal over the next ten years.

With the world premiere of the Taycan Cross Turismo in early March this year, Porsche has achieved the first milestone: the all-in-one electric sports car is the world's first car to be carbon neutral throughout its lifetime.

In addition to avoiding and reducing CO2 emissions, Porsche also offers owners the opportunity to offset their carbon emissions through an innovative carbon offsetting public benefit program, Porsche Impact.            

Through the online carbon offset calculator, Porsche owners can calculate the value of carbon emissions generated by the vehicle while driving, and can choose four environmental protection projects to be funded to achieve carbon offset, including the Monjing River wind project in Hebei Province, China.China is not only a vital market for Porsche, but also an innovation engine for Porsche's sustainable development. "To a large extent, China is going to redefine the auto industry over the next decade." Yan Boyu said.