In a somewhat shock move, Porsche has announced that the next generation of its Macan compact SUV will be an all-electric affair…
NEXT MACAN TO BE ALL-ELECTRIC
Porsche has announced that the next generation of Macan, due at the “start of the next decade” will be all-electric. The bold move will see Porsche’s best-selling model follow in the tyre tracks of the upcoming Taycan – the marque’s first purely electric vehicle – due at the end of 2019. The next Macan will be based on the PPE (Premium Platform Electric) platform developed in collaboration with Audi, the SUV will be powered by the same 800-volt electric motor found in the Taycan.
“Electromobility and Porsche go together perfectly; not just because they share a high-efficiency approach, but especially because of their sporty character,” commented Oliver Blume, Chairman of the Board of Management of Porsche. “By 2022 we will be investing more than six billion euros in electric mobility, and by 2025 50 percent of all new Porsche vehicles could have an electric drive system.
“Nevertheless, over the next ten years we will focus on a drive mix consisting of even further optimised petrol engines, plug-in hybrid models, and purely electrically operated sports cars. Our aim is to take a pioneering role in technology, and for this reason we will continue to consistently align the company with the mobility of the future.” Though moving the Macan to a strictly electric proposition is a huge sea-change for Porsche, it fits with the brand’s expectation that every second car it sells will be ‘electrified’ (electric or hybrid) by 2025.
The next Macan will be built at Porsche’s Leipzig site, where the Cayenne and Panamera are made. Leipzig, which is located around 300 miles from Stuttgart, currently produces more than 90,000 Porsche vehicles annually. Though Porsche is not releasing further technical details on the future Macan at this stage, we already know from the Taycan that the proposed electric drivetrain will be capable of driving at least 250-miles on a full charge, and that charge will take just 15 minutes.
