London: Porsche has given the green light for a production version of the Mission E concept, the first Porsche electric vehicle to take on the Tesla Model S.

The first 100 percent electrically powered Porsche was approved by Porsche board.

In the words of Dr. Oliver Blume, Porsche chairman of the executive board, this is the “beginning a new chapter in the history of the sports car.”

The vehicle is due to be launched at the end of the decade.

Porsche has approved a billion-euro ($1.09 billion) project to produce the battery-powered sports car, the Volkswagen Group unit said.

It will be manufactured near the company’s headquarters in Stuttgart and will create 1,000 jobs.

The company will be investing around 700 million euros in its main site there. Over the next few years, a new paint shop and a new assembly plant will be built.

The existing engine factory is also being expanded for the production of electric motors. In addition, the existing body shop is being enlarged.

On top of that, other areas will be expanded and modernized by the company, such as the Weissach development center.

The Mission E concept car celebrated its premiere at the Frankfurt International Motor Show (IAA) last September.

Visitors were impressed above all by its highly emotional design.

Living up to the buzzword of ‘E-Performance’, the technological trailblazer combines outstanding driving performance with trendsetting day-to-day practicality.

The four-door car with four individual seats has a system power output of over 600 bhp (440 kW).

The vehicle will thus achieve both acceleration of 0 to 100 km/h in under 3.5 seconds and a range of more than 500 km.

Charged via an 800-volt charger unit specially developed for the car, which is twice as powerful as today’s quick-charge systems, the lithium-ion batteries integrated within the vehicle floor will have enough power again for 80 percent of the range after just 15 minutes.

The vehicle can optionally be ‘refueled’ wirelessly by induction via a coil set into the garage floor.

Dr. Wolfgang Porsche, chairman of the Supervisory Board of Porsche AG: “With Mission E, we are making a clear statement about the future of the brand. Even in a greatly changing motoring world, Porsche will maintain its front-row position with this fascinating sports car.”

Dr. Oliver Blume, chairman of the Porsche Executive Board, said: “We are resolutely taking on the challenge of electric mobility. Even with solely battery-powered sports cars, Porsche is remaining true to its philosophy and offering our customers the sportiest and technologically most sophisticated model in this market segment.”

Blume added that the Mission E project underlines the importance of Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen as a production site, of Baden-Württemberg as a center of technology and of the whole German automotive industry.

To assist in operating the vehicle, the car features eye-tracking and gesture-control functions, which include holograms that allow the driver to grab apps out of the air, according to Porsche.

Porsche lineup

The Mission E will complement a lineup comprising the 911, the smaller Cayman sports car, the Boxster roadster, the four-door Panamera sedan and the Cayenne and Macan SUVs.

Porsche’s high-performance 918 Spyder has been sold out as production was limited to safeguard exclusivity.

“We are making a clear statement about the future of the brand,” Chairman Wolfgang Porsche said in the statement.

“Even in a greatly changing motoring world, Porsche will maintain its front-row position with this fascinating sports car.”

Porsche’s investment will include a new paint shop and assembly plant at Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen.

The existing engine factory will expanded for the production of electric motors alongside combustion engines.

CEO Matthias Mueller, who ran Porsche until late September, has vowed to accelerate and widen development of electric cars amid a reorganization that delegates more decision-making to VW Group’s brands and regional units.

Porsche’s electric car will be “better than a Tesla,” Mueller said in an interview to the German press.

“We respect all competitors, also Tesla, and that is the reason why we have taken a close look at the Model S, as well as at every BMW, Mercedes or something else,” said Mueller.

Tesla “did a very good job, especially in terms of connectivity. Some things about the car itself could be better. That is our challenge,” Mueller said.

Porsche and sister unit Audi are among the elite car brands shifting into battery-powered models as Tesla develops into a viable competitor. Deliveries of Tesla’s second vehicle, the Model X crossover has already started, and a more affordable auto is also on its way.

The company run by billionaire Elon Musk received glowing reviews for the acceleration and handling of the Model S, a blow to traditional high-end brands.

Porsche is set to sell more than 200,000 vehicles for the first time this year, driven by demand for the $52,600 compact Macan.

Tesla is targeting 50,000 to 55,000 deliveries in 2015.

VW Group has said the next generation of its VW-badged Phaeton sedan will be electric and it plans to expand the so-called MQB modular production platform to focus more strongly on long-range plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles.