Porsche confirms Cayenne EV to be sold alongside petrol and hybrid models

Porsche has announced that it will continue sales of its combustion-powered Cayenne long after its all-new all-electric fourth generation Porsche Cayenne SUV arrives in 2025. This represents a shift away from the brand’s decision to kill off its smaller combustion-powered Macan after the release of its all-electric replacement, and offers an insight into the anxiety Porsche is feeling as momentum towards electric cars cools. 

In a statement, Porsche’s CEO Oliver Bloom confirmed “the third generation of the Cayenne will be further upgraded and will continue to be offered alongside the all-electric generation” up to and beyond 2030. This will create a three-strong model line up, with the existing ICE SUV and Coupe models joined by the future all-electric model. 

This all-new fourth generation model is already well into its development program, and will be built on the EV-only PPE platform already in use under the new Macan. However, while this architecture is cutting edge in terms of electrification, it’s not flexible enough to support an integration of combustion engines.

The current petrol and plug-in hybrid Cayenne, built on the VW Group’s MLB-Evo platform, was first introduced back in 2017 and received a major update last year with a brand-new interior and big improvements to its engine options. However, without a future ICE-compatible platform in development, this underlying architecture will will have to soldier on, giving it a minimum 13-year lifespan by the time 2030 arrives. 

While this is a U-turn in strategy for the German brand, it’s one that it, and many rivals, feels it has to take due to softening enthusiasm for all-electric models.

Despite this, Porsche remains committed to electrification, with Oliver Blume saying: “Our product strategy could enable us to deliver more than 80 per cent of our new cars fully electrified in 2030 – depending on the demand of our customers and the development of electromobility in the regions of the world”. 

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