Porsche is adding more than 1,400 new employees in the Stuttgart region, as it prepares to launch its first electric sports car before the end of the decade.

Porsche’s all-electric Mission-E is due for series production before the end of the decade.

Production of the new model, including the drivetrain, will take place at the Zuffenhausen plant, and the carmaker is planning a widespread training and apprenticeship programme, particularly in the areas of high-voltage technology and digital-electronic systems, which will start this year.

Previewed as the Mission E concept car (pictured), the first electric Porsche is likely to offer more than 600bhp, a range in excess of 300 miles and charging to 80% capacity in around 15 minutes, rivalling Tesla’s high-performance models. It’s unclear whether it will be a derivative of another Porsche, or a car in its own right.

The new employees will join a workforce totalling 26,200 people as of the end of June – twice the size it was in 2010.