The new company is headed by Anton “Toni” Piech, son of the late Dr Ferdinand Piech who headed Volkswagen and Porsche and is credited with saving Volkswagen. Toni Piech is also Ferdinand Porsche’s great-grandson.

Piech Automotive has also appointed former Porsche and audio company Burmester executive Andreas Henke as co-CEO and chief marketing officer.

The other CEO is former BMW Motorsport chief engineer Klaus Schmidt who is also chief technology officer.

The new start-up has also taken on former Tesla executive Jochen Rudat as its head of sales. Mr Rudat built Tesla’s European network and was a direct advisor to Elon Musk.

Company co-founders Toni Piëch and Rea Stark have finalised the latest round of capital raisings and now plan to further develop three EVs and expect sales at the end of 2022.

Piech Automotive claims revolutionary battery and charging technology. It can achieve 80 per cent battery capacity after being charged for four minutes 40 seconds to give a range of 400km. Maximum range is estimated at 500km.

By Neil Dowling