保時捷選擇在尼亞加拉瀑布、中國平潭島風電場和德國柏林附近的一座太陽能發(fā)電站發(fā)布該公司首款純電動跑車Taycan，充分體現(xiàn)了這款產(chǎn)品在母公司大眾汽車變身全球電動車龍頭廠商過程中的核心作用。

兄弟品牌奧迪的e-Tron電動跑車初次登場不太順利，預計定價約9萬美元的Taycan則成為目前大眾竭力超越電動車先鋒特斯拉的旗艦產(chǎn)品。70年來保時捷推出的都是轟然作響的跑車，而本周三，它在自己的三大市場同時揭開Tancay的面紗，從而使這款新車籠罩在可持續(xù)能源的光芒之中。

盡管擁有全球最大汽車制造商的工程實力，但大眾一直難以拖住特斯拉的腳步。e-Tron原本是要對特斯拉的Model X SUV發(fā)起挑戰(zhàn)，但它的亮相毀于延遲和召回。與此同時，特斯拉首席執(zhí)行官人伊隆·馬斯克將價格較低的Model 3塞進了低端市場。今年Model 3就會在歐洲上市，而且即將在中國投產(chǎn)。

Taycan和面向普通市場的大眾ID.3將在下周的法蘭克福車展上亮相，而且定于今年晚些時候投產(chǎn)，它們代表了大眾斥資逾300億歐元（330億美元）推出各價位電動車的方案，而且大眾絕不愿意看到此項計劃以失敗告終。

彭博情報分析師邁克爾·迪恩在報告中寫道，Taycan“是保時捷以及汽車行業(yè)的轉折點，因為它讓電動汽車的技術水平超越了特斯拉”。Taycan應當“一問世就盈利，因為保時捷的定價能力已經(jīng)得到了驗證，只是其利潤率將遠低于燃油車型。”

最新數(shù)據(jù)顯示，這款線條流暢的四門轎車已經(jīng)收到3萬筆定金，而且周三晚些時候這個數(shù)字還會被改寫。制造這款車的資金包括10億歐元（11億美元）綠色憑證式貸款，這是汽車制造商首次獲得此類貸款。Taycan的銷量也許很快就會超過經(jīng)典的保時捷911，后者在幾十年時間里一直是最吸引全世界富人的保時捷車型。

在梅賽德斯奔馳、捷豹和奧迪將SUV作為自己的第一款電動車后，經(jīng)過技術改良的Taycan將和特斯拉趨于老化的Model S正面抗衡。外界對特斯拉的擔心是它能否實現(xiàn)可持續(xù)盈利，因為對其較老車型的需求正在滑坡，價格較低的Model 3的銷量則呈上升態(tài)勢。

桑福德伯恩斯坦公司分析師托尼·薩克納吉在報告中指出：“近兩個季度Model S和X的銷量已大幅減少，并且顯著拉低了特斯拉的近期業(yè)績。”他列舉了一系列潛在原因，包括Model 3擠占其他特斯拉車型的市場，產(chǎn)品設計開始落后以及新的競爭。

可以接受的回報率

人們討論的另一個問題是保時捷的產(chǎn)品能否帶來可以接受的回報率，因為它們要在尾氣排放標準更為嚴格的情況下讓保時捷保持健康的利潤率。作為大眾盈利水平最高的品牌，保時捷加入電動車競爭時的狀態(tài)非常好。

今年上半年，盡管市場放緩，但對卡宴SUV的需求讓保時捷的銷量上升了2%。在此期間，營業(yè)回報率一直處于16.5%的健康水平，從而成為大眾為新時代空前轉型的關鍵資金來源。

總部設在德國斯圖加特的大眾選擇發(fā)布Taycan的三個地點是綠色能源的象征——尼亞加拉瀑布代表水能，柏林附近的光伏電站代表太陽能，靠近福州的平潭島風電場代表風能。雖然汽車廠商開始逐步轉向電動汽車，但為這些車輛充入的電力經(jīng)常源于燃煤發(fā)電廠等非可再生資源。

混合動力承諾

保時捷一直承諾將為四門跑車Panamera等現(xiàn)有車型推出插電式混合動力版本，原因是該公司逾一半的歐洲客戶都希望擁有混動轎車。為緩解人們對它轉型純電動的擔憂，保時捷開始為美國和歐洲的經(jīng)銷商安裝快速充電裝置。

大眾也加入了Ionity超級充電站項目，后者正在鋪設覆蓋歐洲各條公路快速充電站網(wǎng)絡。Taycan充電四分鐘就可以行使100公里，總續(xù)航里程則達500公里。

Taycan中的高科技配置包括：副駕駛座位前一整塊延伸至乘客座位的水平觸摸屏以及另一塊獨立控制面板。它的信息娛樂系統(tǒng)集成了Apple Music，可以讓駕駛者錄下收音機里的歌曲并添加到自己的播放列表中（安卓手機用戶就沒這個運氣了，保時捷的信息娛樂系統(tǒng)只能對接蘋果公司的產(chǎn)品）。（財富中文網(wǎng)）

譯者：Charlie

審校：夏林

Porsche chose Niagara Falls, a Chinese wind farm and a solar site in Germany to unveil its first all-electric sports car, underscoring the new Taycan’s central role in turning parent Volkswagen AG into the world’s leading seller of battery-powered vehicles.

After a bumpy start for sister brand Audi’s e-Tron, the Taycan, expected to be priced at around $90,000, is for the time being the flag-carrier in VW’s massive drive to unseat e-car pioneer Tesla Inc. The wraps come off Wednesday at simultaneous events in its three biggest markets, where Porsche -- which has churned out roaring sports cars for seven decades -- will bathe the new car in a backdrop of sustainable-power imagery.

Despite all its engineering muscle as the world’s largest automaker, VW has struggled to slow Tesla’s march. The debut of the e-Tron, a challenger to the Model X sport-utility vehicle, was marred by delays and a recall. Tesla chief Elon Musk has meanwhile stretched downmarket with the lower-priced Model 3, which started selling in Europe this year and is about to begin production in China.

The Taycan and the mass-market VW ID.3 will be on display at next week’s Frankfurt auto show, and are slated to start production later this year, underscoring VW’s more than 30 billion-euro ($33 billion) push to produce battery-powered cars across all price segments. It’s a plan the German manufacturer can ill-afford to see falter.

The Taycan “is a turning point for Porsche and the industry as it raises the technical bar for electric vehicles beyond Tesla,” Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Michael Dean wrote in a report. The Taycan should “be profitable from launch given Porsche’s proven pricing power, albeit at vastly reduced margins as compared with gas-powered models.”

At last count the Taycan, a sleek, four-door sedan, had attracted about 30,000 deposits, a figure that’s set to be updated later Wednesday. The car is partly financed by a 1 billion-euro ($1.1 billion) green Schuldschein promissory note, the first for a carmaker. It may quickly outsell the iconic 911 that has led Porsche’s appeal among the world’s wealthy for decades.

The technologically refined car will go head-to-head with Tesla’s aging Model S, after Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar and Audi opted for SUVs to kickstart their electric-car offerings. Tesla is facing concerns over whether it can deliver sustainable profits amid waning demand for its older models while sales rise for the cheaper Model 3.

“Model S and X volumes have plummeted in the last two quarters and have been a huge drag on Tesla’s recent financials,” Sanford Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi said in a note. He counted a number of potential factors, including cannibalization from the Model 3, aging product design and new competition.

Acceptable Returns

The jury is also out on whether Porsche can generate acceptable returns on cars designed to keep the manufacturer’s healthy margins ticking over in the shift to tighter emission rules. It enters the fray in rude health as VW’s most profitable brand.

Demand for the Cayenne SUV helped to lift sales by 2% in the first half despite a slowing market. Maintaining healthy operating returns -- at 16.5% during the first six months -- is key to funding VW’s unprecedented shift into the new era.

The Stuttgart, Germany-based manufacturer picked the three Taycan event locations to showcase sources of green energy: Niagara Falls in North America for hydro power, a solar farm outside of Berlin and a wind farm in China near the city of Fuzhou. While automakers gradually move toward battery-powered cars, the energy used to charge them often still comes from non-renewable sources like coal plants.

Hybrid Promise

Porsche has seen promising sales of plug-in hybrid versions of existing models like the Panamera four-door coupe, with over half of customers in Europe going for partially emissions-free options. To ease concerns over going fully electric, the carmaker is installing fast chargers at dealerships in the U.S. and Europe.

VW is also participating in Ionity, which is rolling out a network of high-speed charging points across European highways. The Taycan can recharge 100 kilometers (62 miles) in four minutes, and has a total range of 500 kilometers.

High-tech goodies include a horizontal touchscreen that stretches all the way to the passenger side, with a separate control panel. The infotainment integrates Apple Music software that lets drivers capture a song on the radio and add it to an their playlist. (Android-phone owners are out of luck -- Porsche’s infotainment system only works with Apple.)