Porsche is bringing fresh design features for its upcoming electric vehicles. According to Ingo Scheinhütte, head of advanced exterior design at Porsche, the brand’s new EVs “must be an evolution” of the German firm’s heritage.
Porsche vehicles are known for their performance, but the design plays an integral role, especially when it comes to EVs.
Scheinhütte recently sat down with Autocar to discuss Porsche’s latest concept models and how they will help shape the brand’s future EV lineup.
At Porsche, concept cars have always laid the groundwork for the brand’s future. The automaker continued the tradition with the all-electric Mission X hypercar concept, unveiled in June.
Oliver Blume, CEO of Porsche, proclaimed, “The Porsche Mission X is a technology beacon for the sports car of the future. It picks up the torch of iconic sports cars of decades past, like the 959, the Carrera GT, and the 918 Spyder before it.”
Blume added that “Porsche has only remained Porsche by constantly changing.” As such, the Mission X has the same dimensions as the Carrera GT and 918 Spyder but features modern design upgrades.
New Porsche EV concepts hint at future design elements
The Mission X includes a new light signature, a reinterpretation of the Porsche four-point graphic. A full-length light bar is the highlight of the rear, with transparent Porsche lettering that lights up when the brakes are hit.
The new rear lightning will be a focal point in future cars, as Scheinhütte explained: “Some elements are essential for our brand ID, like the continuous light arch – and on the Mission X, you see a development of that.”
He added, “Instead of just having a light bar, it now has the Porsche logo integrated into it. I’m confident this is something we will see in production.”
When asked if the design would be integrated into other segments, Scheinhütte responded by saying:
The more you go into the limousine segment and SUV segment, the less 3D shapes you can play with, so [sports] cars are kind of our blueprint that we try to take and adapt to our SUVs.
Porsche’s new concept also debuted a modern Porsche crest to represent the brand’s future (while still incorporating its heritage).
While the Mission X is a “development of the Porsche design language,” the Vision 357 “is a love letter to the original Porsche shape.”
Porsche Vision 357 electric speedster concept (source: Porsche)
Porsche released its Vision 357 speedster concept at the Goodwood FOS last month as a “nod to the first Porsche model line.”
Although the electric speedster is a tribute to Porsche’s heritage, it may include design clues for future EVs. Porsche’s design boss told Autocar:
On the 357, there is a crease on the side, and usually Porsches are very round. This time, we tried to give it a bit of an edge and a corner, even bring the corner around the whole car. I think we could apply that to our SUVs.
Regarding bringing back the old-school GT design for future Porsche EVs, Scheinhütte said the “old GT design with the large bonnet is the oldest symbol we can use in car design.” However, he added, “With EVs, you don’t have those symbols any more, and you don’t want to send a fake message.”
Porsche Macan EV spotted testing (Source: Autocar)
Porsche is set to release the Macan EV (it was recently spotted testing, check out the pictures here) next year, which will be followed by an electric 718 in 2025, the long-awaited Cayenne EV in 2026, and a new ultra-luxury SUV that will top the lineup in 2027.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links.More.
U.S. President Donald Trump holds up an executive order after signing it during an indoor inauguration parade at Capital One Arena on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. Donald Trump takes office for his second term as the 47th president of the United States.
Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Renewable energy giants appear relatively sanguine about U.S. President Donald Trump‘s anti-wind policies, describing the process of replacing fossil fuels with electrically powered products as “absolutely unstoppable.”
In a standalone executive order, which had been widely expected, the president temporarily suspended new or renewed leases for offshore and onshore wind projects and halted the leasing of wind power projects on the outer continental shelf.
“We are not going to do the wind thing. Big ugly windmills, they ruin your neighborhood,” Trump told his supporters at the Capital One Area in Washington on Monday. He previously described wind turbines as an economic and environmental “disaster.”
The measures formed part of a much broader energy offensive designed to “unleash” already booming oil and gas production. This included declaring a national energy emergency, promoting fossil fuel drilling in Alaska and signing an executive order to withdraw the U.S. from the landmark Paris Agreement.
Joe Kaeser, chairman of the supervisory board of Siemens Energy, one of the world’s biggest renewables players, seemed unfazed by Trump’s sweeping energy agenda. In fact, Kaeser considered the policies a “slight plus” for the German energy technology group.
Shares of Siemens Energy jumped more than 8% on Wednesday morning, hitting a new 52-week high.
“We need to see what’s behind all the executive orders and the policies. So far, I believe there are many areas where actually Siemens Energy benefits a lot,” Kaeser told CNBC’s Dan Murphy at the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland on Tuesday.
There will be uncertainty for low-carbon energy sectors, such as onshore and offshore wind, Kaeser said, before adding that Trump’s measures were unlikely to directly impact Siemens Energy. That’s partly because roughly 80% of the firm’s wind market is in Europe, Kaeser said.
“So, I believe that doesn’t move the needle. I’m much more worried about the European economies and how they deal with a very powerful nation, with a very powerful concept. We may or may not like it, because it’s got some nationalistic type of things, but if we look at it from the view of the American people, we better get something going,” Kaeser said.
Beyond onshore and offshore wind, Kaeser said Siemens Energy was well positioned to capitalize from a “booming” electrification market.
“Think about the data centers, artificial intelligence, we have waiting times now on large gas turbines. Actually, customers are coming and saying, hey can I make a reservation and I’ll pay you for a reservation? Just think about that. It hasn’t happened for a long time,” Kaeser said.
“I believe the electrification age has just begun. Whether that’s gas turbines or wind or solar or something else, we’ve got everything, and the customers decide in the end. And one thing I believe one should not underestimate, the White House is not buying much [but] the customer does,” he added.
‘Very, very optimistic’
Spanish renewable energy giant Iberdrola was similarly bullish about the road to full electrification, describing the transition away from fossil fuels as “absolutely unstoppable.”
“We are seeing that probably we are in the best moment for electrification,” Ignacio Galán, executive chairman of Iberdrola, told CNBC at WEF on Tuesday.
Galán cited soaring global demand for electrically powered data centers, low-emission vehicles as well as cooling and heating applications.
A logo on the nacelle of a wind turbine at the Martin de la Jara wind farm, operated by Iberdrola SA, in the Martin de la Jara district of Sevilla, Spain, on Friday, April 21, 2023.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
“All of those things require more electricity 24 hours a day. Our business in the United States is mostly in this area, which is networks … and the regulation depends on the state authority, so I think that is not really affected at all,” Galán said.
“Depending on the legislation, we will make more or less investment in another part of our business,” he added, referring to Trump’s energy policy.
“We are very, very optimistic about the United States and the future,” Galán said.
Wind power woes
Shares of some European wind power giants fell shortly after Trump took aim at wind power plans.
Denmark’s Orsted, which recently announced a roughly $1.7 billion impairment charge on U.S. projects, dipped 4.4% on Wednesday morning, extending steep losses from the previous session.
The rapidly growing offshore wind sector has endured a torrid time in recent years, hampered by rising costs, supply chain disruption and higher interest rates.
Windmills pictured during a press moment of Orsted, on Tuesday 06 August 2024, on the transportation of goods with Heavy Lift Cargo Drones to the offshore wind turbines in the Borssele 1 and 2 wind farm in Zeeland, Netherlands.
Nicolas Maeterlinck | Afp | Getty Images
Artem Abramov, head of new energies research at Rystad Energy, said Trump’s energy agenda essentially means the likelihood of any new offshore developments in the U.S. has fallen to zero — at least for now.
“The US currently has around 2.4 gigawatts (GW) of advanced-stage offshore wind developments that have reached final investment decision and are under construction, which are unlikely to be impacted by the order,” Abramov said in a research note published Tuesday.
“Moderate risk amid the unfavorable investment climate is present for 10.5 GW of projects which secured necessary permits but have not reached investment decisions,” Abramov said.
“The remaining 25 GW of early-stage projects are unlikely to see any progress under the current administration,” he added.
— CNBC’s Spencer Kimball contributed to this report.
On today’s episode of Quick Charge, President Trump has a wild first day in office, but it’s not ALL bad, either. Plus: Tesla gets diner integration, Hyundai keeps the deal train rolling, and it’s dad’s 80th birthday.
We also look ahead to some possible discounts for Tesla insurance customers, some news on the upcoming “cheap” Cybertruck, and wonder out loud if Puerto Rico’s billion dollar solar project is going to see the light of day. All this and more – enjoy!
New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded, usually, Monday through Thursday (and sometimes Sunday). We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage daily news.
Got news? Let us know! Drop us a line at tips@electrek.co. You can also rate us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links.More.
The Stripe logo on a smartphone with U.S. dollar banknotes in the background.
Budrul Chukrut | SOPA Images | LightRocket via Getty Images
Stripe cut 300 jobs, representing about 3.5% of its workforce, mostly in product, engineering and operations, CNBC has confirmed.
The payments company, valued at about $70 billion in the private markets, still expects to increase headcount by 10,000 by the end of the year, which would be a 17% increase, and is “not slowing down hiring,” according to a memo to staff from Chief People Office Rob McIntosh. Business Insider reported earlier on the cuts and the memo.
A Stripe spokesperson also confirmed to CNBC that a cartoon image of a duck with text that read, “US-Non-California Duck,” was accidentally attached as a PDF to emails sent to some of the employees who were laid off. Some of the emails mistakenly provided affected employees with an incorrect termination date, the spokesperson said.
McIntosh sent a follow-up email to staffers apologizing for the “notification error” and “any confusion it caused.”
“Corrected and full notifications have since been sent to all impacted Stripes,” he wrote.
In 2022, Stripe cut roughly 1,100 jobs, or 14% of its workers, downsizing alongside most of the tech industry, as soaring inflation and rising interest rates forced companies to focus on profits over growth. The Information reported that Stripe had a few dozen layoffs in its recruiting department in 2023.
Stripe’s valuation sank from a peak of $95 billion in 2021 to $50 billion in 2023, before reportedly rebounding to $70 billion last year as part of a secondary share sale. The company ranked third on last year’s CNBC Disruptor 50 list.
In October, Stripe agreed to pay $1.1 billion for crypto startup Bridge Network, whose technology is focused on making it easy for businesses to transact using digital currencies.
Brothers Patrick and John Collison, who founded Stripe in 2010, have intentionally steered clear of the public markets and have given no indication that an offering is on the near-term horizon. Total payment volume at the company surpassed $1 trillion in 2023.