ZUFFENHAUSEN, Germany—Engineers at Porsche are setting up a new type of assembly line at its factory here to build a new type of sports car. The all-electric Taycan will be assembled in a “factory within a factory” as part of the Porsche Production 4.0 initiative.

“This development signals Porsche’s move away from the traditional principle of an assembly line,” says Albrecht Reimold, a member of the Porsche executive board responsible for production and logistics. “By applying flexi-line production, [we] will become the first vehicle manufacturer to use driverless transport systems in a continuous series production process.”

“This will enable [us] to combine the advantages of the traditional principle of continuous production with the flexibility of versatile assembly,” claims Reimold. “It will also allow the number of work cycles to be increased using the same amount of space.

Following the concept of “smart, green, lean,” Porsche is also implementing resource-friendly production processes. The Taycan production process will be carbon neutral. The company’s future goal is to operate a factory with no environmental impact.

The four-door Taycan sedan is scheduled to hit the market in 2020. It will be powered by lithium-ion batteries capable of producing up to 620 hp.

“We predict that over 50 percent of Porsche models delivered from 2025 will be electrified,” says Reimold. “This will involve substantial investments in fields such as production, as well as staff training.”