Flagship investor Peter Thiel has closed off the Series A funding for Piëch Automotive, just as the Swiss startup rams its board seats full of Porsche, BMW, and Tesla executives.
Former Porsche and Volkswagen Group CEO Matthias Müller has signed on Chairman for the as Piëch Automotive’s electric vehicle (EV) company, founded by the son of the late industry heavyweight, Dr. Ferdinand Piëch. Dr. Piëch was also Müller’s boss during his long tenure as Volkswagen Group emperor.
Toni Piëch founded Piëch Automotive in 2017 with Rea Stark and they showed their Mark Zero (Mk0) EV concept at last year’s Geneva auto show.
The 450kW Mk0 boasted a range of 500km (WLTP) and a claimed five-minute recharge time, but it was also modular enough to support plug-in hybrid, internal combustion, and hydrogen fuel-cell (FCEV) powertrains as well.
There are three models planned from 2022, including a sports car, a sedan and an SUV, all of which are pure electric vehicles.
Boasting what it calls breakthrough battery technology, Piëch Automotive claims its cars can deliver 400km of range (or 80 percent of a battery recharge) in just four minutes and 40 seconds.
The core of the vehicle is claimed to be more than the battery, though, with an innovative modular concept, which can be used with a variety of body styles, powertrains, and accommodating hardware and software upgrades.
The company’s highly innovative modular vehicle concept is unique in its flexibility, allowing numerous body variants, drive types, and continuously possible upgrades in hardware and software.