Porsche Will Not Offer Driverless Cars

Oliver Blume, CEO, Porsche, told Autocar UK, "When you buy a Porsche, you will drive it yourself, full stop. At the moment we do not think about a full version of robotic driving, we are thinking about features to combine with the real Porsche genes, so at the end you still have a real Porsche."

However, Blume clarified that the company will indeed incorporate certain elements of the technology in its models in the future. He said, "For example, when you are going to work in the morning and you are in a traffic jam, there is a possibility to read the newspaper. When you go to a restaurant and you cannot find somewhere to park, the car will find somewhere to park itself and then fetch you after you leave the restaurant."

However, that is not the priority for the carmaker; Mission E is. Porsche's upcoming fully electric car was showcased as a concept at the 2015 Frankfurt Auto Show before receiving the go-ahead for production in December 2015. Speaking about the Porsche Mission E electric sportscar, which is scheduled to be launched by 2020, Blume said, "The headline is that the customer will have the opportunity to drive sports cars with a combustion engine, as well as new modern cars with electric engines and a lot of digitization but also all of the Porsche features. Mission-E has our whole concentration at the moment."

He went on to add, "Today we don't even think about an electric 911. What will be in the future I don't know, but I think we will have co-existence for at least the next ten years of real combustion engines and electric cars. It is a good idea for Porsche to retain the classic 911 and on the other hand have the Mission-E."