Porsche Charging Service coming to the UK

The Porsche Charging Service – a digital platform that helps Porsche drivers locate and use charging stations – will be rolled out in the UK later in 2019.

Launched in May last year, it'll soon cover 12 countries: Germany, Belgium, Austria, Denmark, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Norway, France, Spain, Italy and Great Britain.

Porsche owners can search for suitable charging points in their vicinity using an app that shows which stations are available, the maximum charging speed and the busiest times.

Best of all, Porsche promises that all costs will be invoiced through centrally stored payment details, meaning drivers won’t have to register with multiple providers in order to access different networks.

The app can be downloaded for free, and each of the 49,000 eligible charging stations across Europe can be accessed with either a smartphone QR code, or a free ‘Porsche ID Card’.

German users must pay €2.50 a month to use the Porsche Charging Service: it isn’t yet known how much UK drivers will pay. In any case, the monthly subscription doesn’t include charging fees themselves, although these are clearly displayed in the app prior to plugging in.

The German carmaker also says charging fees will meet a “guaranteed unit price” that is “independent of currency” in each nation.

The service will be of interest to Porsche Panamera E-Hybrid and Cayenne E-Hybrid buyers, with both plug-in hybrids returning to the brand’s line-up in 2019 after being off sale since mid-way through 2018.

The Porsche Taycan – the marque’s first fully electric car – is due to arrive in 2020.