The Porsche Wireless Charging system, designed to work in conjunction with the manufacturer’s new Cayenne Electric SUV, is now available for order in select European countries including Germany, creating a more seamless home charging experience that works at charging speeds of up to 11kW – roughly the same as you’d expect from most home charging wallboxes.
Porsche’s wireless charging tech goes live
The system, which can be specified from new on the build configuration of a Cayenne Electric or be retrofitted to an existing example, consists of a ground pad and vehicle pad – which can be installed both under cover or outdoors, thanks to its weatherproofing. These interact with a wireless charging receiver mounted on the underside of the Cayenne to complete the process, at charging speeds of up to 11kW with an energy transfer efficiency of around 90%.
It’s not a cheap setup though. In the UK, Porsche is charging around £1,930 for the plate that sits under the vehicle. Meanwhile, the charging pads themselves cost another £5,355, working at a total cost of well over £7,000 – significantly more than you’d pay for a traditional wall-mounted domestic EV charger.
Other manufacturers have been experimenting with wireless EV charging for years, but it hasn’t been offered to market at scale in the same way as here. BMW, for example, piloted a wireless charging system on its 530e plug-in hybrid back in 2018, while Genesis also trialled (and subsequently cancelled) a wireless charging technology for its GV60 EV, exclusive to South Korea, a few years back. The Cayenne Electric is therefore the only EV currently on sale in Europe with this capability. It remains to be seen whether wireless charging will become more commonplace across the EV space, particularly on more affordable models, or whether it will remain an expensive novelty.
