- Porsche’s upcoming flagship electric SUV, designed to sit above the Cayenne, is going on the back burner.
- The German automaker’s largest SUV will still be developed, but it will be offered initially as a combustion engine and plug-in hybrid model.
- Moreover, a gas-powered replacement of the first-generation Macan is in the works.
Porsche is significantly changing its product strategy for the following years, after sales of its all-electric models failed to grow as expected. As part of the strategy shift, the upcoming flagship electric SUV, which was designed to sit above the Cayenne, will be offered exclusively with a combustion engine and a plug-in hybrid powertrain–at least at the beginning.
The model, codenamed K1, will become Porsche’s first three-row crossover and open a whole new market for the brand as it tries to navigate the tougher-than-expected transition to an all-electric portfolio. All this being said, the company didn’t say when the new model would become available.
The Porsche Cayenne EV is still on track, but its bigger brother will debut with gas power.
Photo by: Porsche
However, it’s clear that the German sports car maker is far from done with combustion engines. As part of the reorganization, the current-generation 718 two-door will live on and will continue to burn gas for the foreseeable future, albeit only in the top versions, such as the RS- and GT-badged models. Meanwhile, the all-electric Boxster and Cayman are still on track, but a new EV platform, which was scheduled for 2030, has been pushed back.
What’s more, the gas-powered Macan is also getting a replacement, with a plug-in hybrid version scheduled for 2028. At the same time, the Taycan and Macan Electric, as well as the new Cayenne EV, are not going anywhere. To make matters even more complicated, the current-generation gas-powered Cayenne is due for a major makeover.
If you find this hard to follow, I don’t blame you. In order to survive, Porsche will practically sell three models–Macan, Cayenne and 718–with either an all-electric powertrain or a gas engine under the hood. But while the names will be the same, the cars will be completely different under the skin. The Taycan, 911, Panamera and upcoming “Prestige” three-row SUV will complete the portfolio.
Porsche says these changes need to be made because of the “additional burdens” of U.S. import tariffs, the decline in the Chinese luxury market and the “slowdown in the ramp-up of electric mobility.” As part of this “strategic realignment,” the Zuffenhausen-based carmaker expects to spend a whopping $3.65 billion for this financial year, with “further cash outflows expected in the coming years.”
