Porsche to go all-electric with Macan

PORSCHE is going all-electric with its next-generation Macan, dumping internal combustion engines from the line-up to create its first compact SUV driven solely by electrons.

 

Due by 2021, the new Macan will follow in the wheel tracks of Porsche’s all-electric Taycan sportscar – scheduled to go into production late this year as Porsche’s first ground-up, mass-produced EV development – and the related Taycan Cross Turismo wagon in 2020.

 

The Macan move represents a big tick for electric motivation, but Porsche has assured fans of its boxer petrol engines – particularly those who buy its iconic 911 – that it will continue to develop and produce such powerplants alongside the electric powertrains for another decade. 

 

The Macan will be built on the new PPE architecture (Premium Platform Electric) developed in collaboration with Volkswagen Group sister brand Audi. It will include Porsche’s 800-volt technology. 

 

This architecture is a further development of the platform under the Taycan, and is being developed as a flexible base for a wide variety of electric vehicles.

 

The decision to go all-electric with the Macan was announced by Porsche overnight in Germany, with Porsche AG chairman Oliver Blume indicating the ability of electric drivetrains to deliver sports performance was a factor in the decision.

 

“Electromobility and Porsche go together perfectly, not just because they share a high-efficiency approach but especially because of their sporty character,” he said.

 

“By 2022 we will be investing more than €6 billion ($A9.51b) in electric mobility, and by 2025 50 per cent of all new Porsche vehicles could have an electric drive system.

 

“Nevertheless, over the next 10 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.”

 

The Macan EV will line up against a flood of similar prestige battery-powered SUVs that include Jaguar’s I-Pace, Mercedes-Benz’s EQC and Audi’s e-tron.

 

The new Macan will be built in Porsche’s plant at Leipzig – a decision the company said was taken in July last year. Porsche confirmed that other electric cars would be made at the plant, saying: “Making this investment in electromobility at the Leipzig site creates the opportunity to produce fully electric vehicles on the existing production line in future.”

 

The Leipzig factory opened in 2002 with Cayenne production, and was greatly expanded in 2014 when the Macan rolled from the assembly line there, initially at the rate of 40,000 units a year but now 90,000 a year.

 

Since then, the Panamera has been added to the roster at the plant that now has 4000 employees.

 

Porsche has just facelifted the Macan in a move that should see the current model through to 2021 when the EV version is expected to arrive.

 

Last year, Macan sales in Australia dipped 24.4 per cent over 2017, to 1874 units, but it comfortably remained Porsche’s top-selling model, ahead of the bigger Cayenne SUV (1084).

 

Porsche Cars Australia currently offers only two Macan variants – the 2.0-litre turbo petrol Macan and the 3.0-litre turbo V6 petrol Macan S.

 

As always with Porsche when a refreshed model rolls around, the high-performance GTS and Turbo variants will be phased in the next year or two.

 

But don’t expect a diesel – those were dumped after the Volkswagen Group’s dieselgate scandal.

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