The Porsche Cayenne Electric Can Now Charge Wirelessly

It's always had the onboard tech. But now the pad itself is on sale in a few markets.

Photo by: Porsche

By: Mack Hogan

Sep 16, at 1:07pm ET

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The Porsche Cayenne Electric supports 11 kW wireless charging.
The charging pad is finally on sale in select markets, the first of its kind in Europe or the U.S.
Porsche says the wireless charging system is 90% efficient.

The Porsche Cayenne Electric is an impressive machine. It's great to drive, it's a charging monster, and I personally have driven one over 350 miles at 70 mph. It may be pricey, but it's about as good as Western legacy brand EVs get. And it just got even better.

Porsche confirmed today that the Cayenne Electric's wireless charging pad is now available to order in Germany and other European markets. While we're still waiting on an American launch—supposedly coming in the second half of this year, and I've reached out to Porsche to see if that timeline is still correct—this is a big deal. Wireless charging technology is already deployed in China, but the Cayenne Electric is the first vehicle to offer it in Europe and the North America.

Now, if you've wireless charged a phone, you know that the technology can be pretty limited. Wireless charging a phone is only 70-80% efficient, according to charger brand Anker, which explains why it often heats up the phone without providing a ton of juice. But wireless car charging is better. Thanks to the larger receiver and transmitter, and the extra heat dissipation created by the air gap, Porsche says the Cayenne Electric's wireless charger is 90% efficient.

It isn't slow, either. Porsche says it delivers up to 11 kW of power. That's more than enough to fully charge the Cayenne's 113.0-kWh battery overnight.

Gallery: 2027 Porsche Cayenne Electric

Source: Porsche

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The downside is the system requires a permanently installed ground pad. Though it is waterproof and strong enough to support the weight of the car, should you roll over it, it must be fixed in place. Porsche says the pad also detects if a living creature is nearby and deactivates, so you shouldn't have to worry about the cat's name tag sparking up. It'll also detect regular metal debris in its path and shut down if it detects anything.

What's unclear is how precise you need to be to use it. I haven't gotten to sample the system yet, but I'm incredibly interested in how painless it feels. I don't find plugging in to be hugely inconvenient, but a permanent wireless charging solution would be an incredible quality of life improvement for EV owners. Porsche says the pad will come available globally in stages, starting with Europe. American sales should begin sometime in 2027.