Has Porsche cracked the code with new Porsche wireless charging that doesn’t require cables? This could be the next evolution of EV charging.

Porsche just cracked wireless charging for the upcoming Cayenne Electric, and it’ll cost you around eight grand for the privilege of parking over a pad instead of fumbling with cables. The 11-kilowatt floor plate matches what you’d get from a regular wall charger, runs at 90% efficiency, and can handle snow, rain, and even getting driven over.

The practically impracticality of the Porsche wireless car charging pad

Park your Cayenne in the right spot, the suspension drops automatically, and charging starts without touching a thing. Sounds perfect until you realize that’s ten times more expensive than a Tesla Wall Connector, and you still need to plug in anywhere outside your garage. The tech won’t even fit under the smaller Taycan or Macan because there’s no room between the suspension bits. This means you’re paying luxury money to solve a problem that takes three seconds with a cable, but maybe that’s exactly the point when you’re dropping six figures on a Porsche.

Still, Porsche wireless charging is huge

Although paying $8,000 for an EV charger seems ludicrous, for those who don’t mind paying more to show off, this Cayenne Electric inductive charging pad gives them the toy that their neighbors don’t have. This system comes with a flat pad that weighs only 33 pounds and is an 11-kW inductive charger to provide contactless EV charging in your garage. The goal is to reduce the need for wallboxes and large charging stations, and this is only the first step. Like any new technology, the early models are extremely expensive and meant for a small audience at first.

Getting closer for Porsche home charging

The new Porsche wireless charging pad for the Cayenne EV is one of the most advanced luxury EV features ever created. Once the vehicle lowers, which it does when detecting the charging plate below the battery pack, the charge is transferred from the plate to the vehicle across a magnetic field. This is similar to wireless charging for mobile devices. If a pet, child, or other obstacles block the charging path, the charger detects it and stops charging. The system resumes sending charge to the vehicle once the obstacle moves away or has been removed.

What are the dimensions of the Porsche wireless charging pad?

This pad is only 2.3 inches tall, which makes it fit easily under the Cayenne EV. It’s also 78 inches wide and 46 inches long, allowing it to take up most of the space under the vehicle where the battery pack resides. The pack is activated using an app on the driver’s phone, and a password is required to begin the first charging session, but it will begin automatically thereafter when the Cayenne EV is parked above the charging pad.

Is it a gimmick or a useful item?

The 11 kW charging rate sounds like it might be slow, but that needs to be put into context before dismissing the Porsche wireless charging pad as a gimmick. The charging rate is equal to what you’ll find at the low end of a typical public charging station and more than most home charging systems, which put out 3 to 7 kW of power. This means the batteries will charge faster than your normal at-home charger, but not as rapidly as a public charging station, which can charge at up to 22 kW. That means this charging pad should protect the longevity of the vehicle’s batteries.

A limited audience for now

This new Porsche wireless charging pad is the first in what should be a long list of new charging tech for Porsche EVs going forward. This model doesn’t fit under the Macan or Taycan, but Porsche will continue to develop vehicle wireless charging technology, and smaller versions could be next. Additionally, the charging rates should eventually increase to make it much easier to recharge an EV much faster.

Should you add the Porsche wireless charging pad to your garage?

If you don’t mind dropping $8,000 and want to be the EV owner with the best charging tech, this new charging pad could be a great way to enjoy an easy charging experience. It brings a few questions to mind, such as can you turn off the charger if you don’t need to charge your Cayenne EV? How reliable is this new technology? How soon will upgraded tech be available?

Of course, it doesn’t take long to plug in your EV to the wall using a traditional charging cord, which means the Porsche wireless charging pad might not be something you want to spend extra money on, but it’s still a pretty cool start to the future of EV charging.