Porsche Panamera Hybrid to Get Plug-In Treatment

Porsche Automobil Holding SE plans to build a plug-in hybrid edition of its Porsche Panamera sedan beginning in 2014, Auto News reported Monday.

A source at Stuttgart, Germany-based Porsche said that the plug-in hybrid edition of the Porsche Panamera would most likely come to the U.S. at some point in the future, but that the timing of such a release was unknown, Auto News reported. Volkswagen, which owns 49.9 percent of Porsche, is set to release hybrid versions of the Audi Q7 and European edition of the Volkswagen Passat beginning in 2014 or 2015. The 2014 Audi A3 will also be coming out as a plug-in hybrid in 2014.

A spokesperson for Porsche in the U.S. said that although the company had not officially announced or confirmed a plug-in hybrid Panamera, We have a hybrid version of the Panamera S that's on sale now, and we're looking into future technology to make that vehicle even more efficient.

Although the statement does not confirm a plug-in hybrid version of the Panamera S hybrid, the most likely direction forward would be a plug-in hybrid. A full electric version of the Porsche Panamera S seems somewhat less probable. A plug-in hybrid functions as an electric car which can be plugged in to charge, with a gasoline engine to extend its range and recharge its batteries.

We are really convinced that the future of hybrids won't be pure hybrids, but the plug-in hybrids, Rudolf Krebs, VW Chief Officer for Electric Traction said, according to Auto News.