Porsche said Friday it was pumping in a billion euros to bring its first all electric car to market by "the end of the decade", as the German luxury sportscar giant joined the race for a slice of the green car market. The car dubbed Mission E will boast an acceleration of 0 to 100 kilometres an hour in under 3.5 seconds and an autonomy of more than 500 kilometres (310 miles) on a single charge.
A specially developed charger can replenish the car's lithium-ion batteries with sufficient power for 80 percent of the range after just 15 minutes, the company said. "With Mission E, we are making a clear statement about the future of the brand. Even in a greatly changing motoring world, Porsche will maintain its front-row position with this fascinating sports car," said Wolfgang Porsche, supervisory board chairman, in a statement after the management approved the project. Some 700 million euros ($760 million) of the investment would be spent on a new paint shop and an assembly plant in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen, where 1,000 news jobs would also be created. Another 300 million euros are development costs, said the group. Germany's mighty auto industry is racing to catch up with US green car star Tesla, which currently has no rival at the high end of the electric car segment.