The Porsche Cayenne Electric will be offered with a wireless charging pad, claimed to be the first manufacturer-supported inductive charging solution on the market.
Officially named Porsche Wireless Charger (PWC), it offers speeds up to 11kW and works in temperatures ranging from -40 to 50deg C. Porsche claims it’s unaffected by debris such as leaves or snow. The pad operates at around 90% efficiency.
The pad is straightforward to initiate. When driving towards it, the car’s digital display cuts to gridlines overlaid on a feed from a forward-facing camera, to help the driver line up with the pad, drive over it and park in just the right place.
The Cayenne’s air suspension then lowers the body a few centimetres, a magnetic field fires up beneath it and the invisible transfer of electrons into the battery begins.
You can’t embed the 60mm-tall, 50kg pad into the floor of a driveway or garage for total integration, as this would involve obscuring the sensors that help guide the car onto the pad. It is however completely self-sufficient, as no wallbox is required.
All UK-spec Cayenne EVs will be prepared with the necessary wiring and hoses to accept the 15kg, water-cooled charge receptor that is bolted behind the protective underbody cladding at the front of the car – but the unit itself will be an option, costing around £2000. The pad costs an additional £3000.
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