Electrification will continue spreading across the Porsche lineup in the coming years. The German company confirmed the second-generation Macan will become its third volume-produced battery-electric model when it goes on sale in the early 2020s.
“Electromobility and Porsche go together perfectly; not just because they share a high-efficiency approach, but especially because of their sporty character,” Porsche boss Oliver Blume said in a statement. He added that, by 2022, 50 percent of the new cars the company sells could come with an electric drive system.
Making the Macan (pictured) electric is a bold move because it is, by far, Porsche’s best-selling model. Porsche stopped short of revealing full technical details, so we don’t know how many miles the electric SUV will be able to cover on a single charge, or how quick it will be. The company nonetheless confirmed its high-riding electric car will receive the 800-volt charging system the hotly anticipated Taycan — Porsche’s first series-produced electric car — will inaugurate when it makes its debut in 2019. The technology promises to zap the Taycan with an 80 percent charge in under 20 minutes, so it’s reasonable to assume the Macan will charge just as quickly.
The second-generation Macan will ride on the modular Premium Platform Electric (PPE) architecture Porsche is jointly developing with sister company Audi. The firm previously announced its first PPE-based models will enter production towards the end of 2021, meaning we won’t see the electric Macan before then. When it arrives, it will open the electric car floodgates. Porsche is investing over six billion euros (about $6.8 billion) into its electrification strategy, so it’s reasonable to assume the Taycan, the Taycan Cross Turismo, and the Macan won’t remain its only battery-powered models for very long. Unverified rumors even point to an electric sports car in the vein of the 718 Boxster.
Not every future Porsche will run on volts, however. Some will continue to burn only gasoline, and others will rely on both power sources.
“Over the next 10 years, we will focus on a drive mix consisting of even further optimized [gasoline] engines, plug-in hybrid models, and purely electrically operated sports cars,” Blume said. Precisely where the Macan fits into this strategy is up in the air; we know an electric model is coming, and the PPE platform is being developed exclusively for electric cars, but it’s unclear whether Porsche will also sell a gasoline-powered version of the next Macan. We’ve reached out to the company for clarification, and we’ll update this story when we hear back.
