Porsche is pressing ahead with development of synthetic fuel without help from other prestige carmakers that will likely benefit from so-called eFuels.
The German carmaker has been a huge proponent of eFuels as a way to keep people in their Porsche cars long after the ban on the sale of petrol and diesel cars comes into effect in the European Union in 2035.
While Porsche has invested $100 million in eFuels, some other key industry players under the same Volkswagen Group umbrella have had some choice words about the fuel.
However, Pascal Ackermann, Product Manager for Porsche Cayenne says Porsche’s work in eFuels would ultimately benefit other high-end brands, whether they are involved in the process or not.
“At the end we all stick together at one point, so I think that Lamborghini, Bentley, or even Bugatti can participate in that. But we also have Rimac, Croatian manufacturer, also part of Porsche,” he told CarsGuide at the recent Cayenne facelift drive in Europe last month.
“So we have both, we have the eFuels with Rimac – an expert in high-performance vehicles. So at the end, maybe it’s somewhere in between or it’s coupled or it’s parallel. Depending on the markets, depending on the regulations, no-one knows what will happen in 2030 or afterwards. But that’s the current situation.”
Lamborghini chief Stephan Winkelmann has taken a cautious approach to eFuels, while Volkswagen brand CEO Thomas Schafer told Automotive News that his brand would not be pursuing synthetic fuel tech.
“That’s unnecessary noise from my point of view,” he told the publication.
“By 2035 [combustion engines] are over anyway. We said by 2033 we’re done.
“By 2030 we plan that 80 per cent of our vehicles sold in Europe are battery electric, so why spend a fortune on old technology that doesn’t really give you any benefit?”
Ackermann acknowledged that eFuels would not necessarily benefit all manufacturers, especially volume players with strong BEV plans already.
“Because of the volume of Volkswagen, the battery electric vehicles, of course, is the best choice.”
He added that will especially be the case for smaller cars, given that the incoming EU7 emissions regulations will make it harder for carmakers to be able to produce affordable small cars.
“I think we will see this in the A-segment vehicle, so like Fiat 500 or Volkswagen Polo. With Euro 7 in Europe, the amount you will have to put in to meet the regulations will be that high that the car will cost an estimated 40,000 or 50,000 Euros and you don’t want to pay so much money for such a small car. So I think this is what we will see that these cars will be electrified really soon.”
A bloc of countries, led by Germany, successfully pushed for a change to the 2035 ICE ban earlier this year, ensuring that ICE cars can continue to be sold after that date, as long as they only use synthetic fuels.
Porsche has already entered the battery electric vehicle market with its Taycan, and will soon add to that with EV versions of the Macan, Cayenne and the next-generation 718 Cayman and Boxster sports car twins.
The carmaker – part of the massive Volkswagen Group – is clearly committed to BEVs, but is also determined to keep internal combustion engines alive.
Single-make race championships such as the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup in Europe already use eFuels with some success. Development is underway for a wider rollout for road-going Porsches, including classics going back decades.
Synthetic fuels are made from CO2 and hydrogen using renewable energy sources and will allow for close to CO2-neutral operation of internal-combustion engines.
As well as plants in South America, Porsche is investing in a manufacturing facility near Burnie in Tasmania.