Charging your car at home on an inductive charging pad like the one for your smartphone, but somewhat bigger. Porsche will be demoing an 11 kW inductive charging solution next week at the IAA motor show in Munich, to be used with the upcoming full-electric Cayenne in 2026.
Porsche claims it will be the first car manufacturer to bring an 11 kW charging system with a one-box base plate for battery-electric vehicles to market maturity. And that’s what it looks like after earlier attempts for less powerful solutions, by BMW and aftermarket solutions from Plugless Power or WiTriocity/ABT.
Suitablility for every day use
In the past, PHEV owners, including Cayenne PHEV drivers, were often ‘notorious’ for underutilizing their plug-in capability, driving primarily on gasoline and not plugging in regularly. With a fully electric car, there is no way around it. So Porsche makes it as convenient as possible.
“Ease of use, suitability for everyday use, and charging infrastructure are still the decisive factors when it comes to the acceptance of electric mobility,” says Porsche Board Member for Development Dr. Michael Steiner. “We are proud that inductive charging will soon be available in series production at Porsche. Charging an electric car at home has never been so easy and convenient.”
“Around 75 percent of all charging processes in an all-electric Porsche take place at home. This was the result of an analysis by the sports car manufacturer. The potential for inductive charging is correspondingly great,” Porsche says in a press release.
Demo at IAA Munich
Porsche intends to present a prototype with luminous paint to demonstrate the technology at the IAA Mobility in Munich. The world premiere of the new Cayenne Electric is planned for the end of 2025. Both the Cayenne EV and the charging solution will go on sale in 2026.
The sports carmaker quotes up to 11 kW and up to 90% grid-to-battery efficiency. The floor plate (length/width/height: 117/78/6 cm) weighs 50 kg and can be used in a garage or outdoors, as it is fully weatherproof and it integrates all the power electronics in the pad itself, without a separate wallbox.
The pad is supplied from the household AC mains (230 V in Europe, 240 V in North America) through a dedicated circuit. You can not just plug it in like a smartphone charge pad.
For 11 kW continuous power you need a permanently installed line on a breaker (typically three-phase in Europe, 3×16 A). A hard-wired cable runs from the plate to your electrical panel, similar to how a wallbox is installed.
In a garage, the cable can be routed discreetly under flooring, along a wall, or in a conduit, and then enters the back of side of the plate. So you’re probably going to need the help of a professional electrician too. Porsche says customers can be supported by Porsche Installation Service to do the installation.
Integrated into MyPorsche app
To use it, just drive over it. Porsche Wireless Charging is integrated into the My Porsche app, so that charging processes can be tracked and several vehicles can be authenticated, the car manufacturer says.
“A special view in the Surround View parking function makes it easier to steer the Cayenne to the optimal charging position. As soon as the parking position above the floor plate is reached and the parking brake is activated, the charging process begins.”
“Customers don’t need to do anything else. Convenience functions familiar from AC charging, such as timer charging with preconditioning, are also available for wireless charging.” It is equipped with an LTE and WLAN module as standard, so that remote software updates and infrastructure support are also guaranteed.
Is it safe?
Does your neighbor’s cat risks to get ‘roasted’ when it crawls under the charging car? Porsche also adds object or animal detection, but the there is minimal to no danger at all.
Unlike a conductive plug, an inductive pad transfers energy through a magnetic field. The copper coils in the pad and in the car’s receiver are electrically insulated and sealed.
The system is tuned so that power flows efficiently only when a matching receiver coil is properly aligned above the pad. A cat (or shoe, or toolbox) doesn’t resonate at that frequency, so the energy transfer is negligible and considered safe.
The charging process is automatically interrupted if a living creature gets between the vehicle and the floor plate or if a metallic object lies on the latter and heats up.
When the car is parked over it and charging, the active magnetic field is shielded and highly localized between the pad and receiver, not something that would shock or burn a pet.
Previous pilots by BMW and Volvo
Porsche isn’t the first to show inductive charging for EVs as such, but it’s the first to make a product available for the market, from 2026 on and in combination with the upcoming fully-electric Cayenne, as the EV itself needs special equipment too.
“The receiver unit is located in the underbody of the vehicle between the front wheels. For the charging process, the Cayenne then only has to be parked above the floor plate. The contactless transfer of energy between the two charging units takes place over a distance of a few centimetres. To this end, the Cayenne lowers automatically.”
Seven years ago (2018-2020), BMW pioneered in a limited pilot in select markets with the 530e iPerformance plug-in hybrid sedan. A floor pad about the size of a doormat, installed on or slightly into the garage floor could deliver a 3.2 kW to 3.7 kW inductive power to a secondary coil mounted to the underside of the 530e.
BMW used a two-box solution: the pad was connected to the house mains through a wall-mounted control unit, so effectively it added a wallbox.
It delevered around 85% grid-to-battery efficiency under good alignment. The car’s infotainment and 360° camera system helped drivers position the car precisely over the pad, targeting a tolerance of ±7 cm. It was delivered in limited numbers as a pilot program, but never scaled to series-wide production.
Tesla, for instance, does not yet offer a consumer wireless charging pad for its vehicles, but the company is actively working on it, especially with autonomous vehicles in mind. Tesla showcased a concept wireless charger during its Robotaxi unveiling in October 2024.
Aftermarket solutions
In the US, Plugless Power is a mature, plug-and-play aftermarket wireless charging system delivering up to 7.2 kW. It’s available for many EVs in the US, like Nissan Leaf, Chevy Volt, Tesla Model S (RWD and AWD), BMW i3, Cadillac ELR, Volkswagen e-Golf, Porsche Panamera S-E, and others.
It requires installation of the pad on a concrete floor, anchored and hardwired to a dedicated circuit (e.g., 50 A). A special vehicle adapter must be installed by a certified technician, integrated without altering EV software or warranty in many cases.
In Europe, WiTricity/ABT e-Line offers a collaborative retrofit solution for the European aftermarket, developed by ABT e-Line (specializing in e-mobility conversions) using WiTricity’s magnetic resonance wireless charging technology.
It started with the Volkswagen ID.4 and planned 11 kW expansions include upgrades for the Audi e-tron GT, Porsche Taycan, and VW ID. Buzz. No official pricing information has been publicly released for the WiTricity/ABT e-Line wireless charging retrofit solution in Europe.
Volvo, on the other hand, has been experimenting with wireless charging too in Götenburg, but on a different scale. It focused on public, high-power inductive charging for commercial taxi operations with in-ground pads delivering up to 40 kW in a city pilot context.
