Wirtschaftsforum: With Porsche Digital and the collaboration with the start-up 'Home-iX', Porsche is now also entering the market of digital transformation. What goals do you have in this direction?

Of course, digitalization also plays an increasingly important role in our vehicles. Connected car and automated driving are topics that currently occupy every car manufacturer, including us. With the founding of Porsche Digital GmbH and the Porsche Digital Lab, we have created the best conditions for our journey into the digital future of the automobile.

Wirtschaftsforum: The automotive industry is undergoing a transformation. E-mobility and new propulsion technologies are increasingly in demand. How will Porsche address these trends in the future?

Oliver Blume: The future belongs to electric mobility. Nonetheless, we see a triad for the coming years in terms of propulsion concepts: We will start with further optimized combustion engines, offer very attractive hybrid models and by the end of the decade bring to market the first purely electric sports car, the Mission E, combining traditional Porsche genes with the technology of tomorrow.

Moreover: Porsche was the first manufacturer to offer state-of-the-art plug-in hybrid models in three premium segments simultaneously – in the 918, Cayenne, and Panamera. In the new Panamera, we now already offer two hybrid versions; with the V8 hybrid in the Panamera Turbo S with its nearly 700 horsepower and 50 kilometers of purely electric range, we placed a hybrid version at the spearhead of a model series for the first time.

Wirtschaftsforum: The automotive location Germany still holds a leading position, but competition is not sleeping, especially brands like Toyota and Tesla are market leaders in the e-mobility sector. Can the German automotive industry keep up in the long term?

Oliver Blume: The automotive industry will undergo more significant changes in the next five years than in the previous 50 years. It is facing a profound system change. Electrification, digitalization, and connectivity are the three major trends. New providers are entering the market with new business models. This undoubtedly poses great challenges for established manufacturers and their suppliers – not only in Germany. At Porsche, we take these challenges very seriously. However, we do not see the transformation of our industry as a threat, but primarily as an enormous opportunity. We are intensively preparing for the future. We have consistently aligned our Porsche Strategy 2025 with this in mind. A successful strategy includes the willingness to constantly question and renew oneself. Innovations are the key to the future. They develop when ideas are implemented into reality. Porsche thrives on innovation. Especially in racing, you cross the finish line first if you are more innovative than the others. Quality and decades of experience are no guarantee, but a good basis for future success. In short: The German automotive industry and Porsche will not only be able to keep up in the future, we will assert ourselves at the top.

Wirtschaftsforum: Your cars are known for sporty driving, will Porsche also meet this standard with alternative engines in the future?

Oliver Blume: There is no doubt about it. The sports car of the future not only combines the tradition and values of Porsche with new technologies and sustainability, but also stands for an emotional driving experience. For the Mission E, the sporty design is clearly in the foreground. E-mobility and performance are not a contradiction for us, on the contrary. The "Mission E" will be the sportiest and most technically advanced vehicle in its segment. We are building sports cars in a new era of mobility that drive like a Porsche, smell like a Porsche, and feel like a Porsche. We combine the emotional allure that has always characterized our products with innovative possibilities to build the sports car of the future. A Porsche will always be a Porsche, completely independent of its type of propulsion.

Interview: Sarah Urquhart