WhichCar
wheels

Electric Macan ‘on the home straight’ followed by Cayenne facelift and all-electric version in 2026

Porsche’s AGM provided us with an update on its electric journey

2024 Porsche Cayenne Testing 01
Gallery10

Snapshot

  • PPE-based electric Macan just around the corner
  • Significant Cayenne facelift coming in 2024
  • All-electric 718, Cayenne to follow
  • ‘K1’ three-row SUV coming in 2027

UPDATE: At its annual general meeting (AGM), Porsche bosses handed out an update on how the brand’s electrification strategy is tracking.

Following software-related delays, it appears the electric Macan SUV is on the home straight – gearing up for release later this year, or in early 2024. The electric Macan will usher in Porsche’s PPE architecture packing 450kW, 1000Nm, and a 100kWh-plus battery.

The Macan will be followed by a significant third-gen Cayenne update in 2024 – described by Porsche as one of the most comprehensive upgrades in the company’s history. Porsche says the Cayenne’s overhaul will include refreshed plug-in hybrid powertrains with greater battery-electric driving range.

2024 Porsche Macan EV Teaser PPE Platform 011
10

At Monday's meeting, the brand also referenced “a new chassis”, though this is expected to mean suspension components, as the third-gen Cayenne will continue on the MLB Evo platform. But Porsche has promised more breadth, meaning on-road performance better balanced with comfort and improved off-road capability.

An all-electric 718 sports car range follows in 2025, and then an all-new generation of Cayenne will debut riding on the PPE platform, an 800-volt electric architecture that moves the game on from the Taycan’s J1 underpinnings. The fourth-gen Cayenne SUV will be available exclusively as an electric model.

The final model to be announced is the K1, a three-row SUV that will get another new architecture – this time Porsche’s SSP – likely in 2027.

2024 Porsche Cayenne Testing 02
10

Our original story, below, continues unchanged.

The story to here

February 23: New Cayenne 'revealed' in testing, pure-EV variant expected from 2026

Following news last year that a flagship three-row SUV will soon top the Porsche range, the company has recently revealed details of its coming new Cayenne.

Interestingly, despite being so close to its big debut, the new Cayenne is shown in Porsche's photos wearing not a heavily camouflaged prototype body, but rather the panels of its now seven-year-old third-generation predecessor.

While official word on its platform is still to be revealed, reports suggest the 'new' Cayenne will be a heavily revised version of the existing model, entering as a 'transition' car ahead of an all-new electric model's debut sometime around 2026.

If true, this plan would follow in the treads of the new Macan, which will be offered both as an overhauled version of the current ICE car and as a new-generation electric car – which you can see in our speculative renderings below.

Indeed, Porsche's own words hint more at an overhaul than a completely new platform: "We’re subjecting the new Cayenne to a complete and comprehensive testing program, just as if it we’d developed it from scratch,” said test manager Ralf Bosch.

2024 Porsche Cayenne Testing 02
10

Porsche says the new Cayenne will feature a new "semi-active" chassis, designed to emphasise a wider range of capabilities between on-road and off-road driving – although it's unlikely we'll see any sudden mountain-dominating, Range Rover-rivalling talents debut with what is primarily a road-focused luxury SUV.

According to the UK's Autocar, a properly new pure-electric Cayenne will debut in 2026, giving Porsche another important model in advance of Europe's 2035 ban on internal combustion vehicles.

Expect the electric Cayenne to ride on the same Premium Platform Electric (PPE) architecture that will underpin the new electric Macan and a number of new Audi models (but not, due to timing, the current Taycan).

All PPE models will be built around an 800V electric system, which should allow 0-80 per cent recharging to occur in "less than 25 minutes" – rivalling the 18-minute claim made with Hyundai's Ioniq 5 and the related Kia EV6.

2024 Porsche Macan EV Teaser PPE Platform 04
10

The story to here

September 2022: Macan EV delayed, large 3-row SUV confirmed

Snapshot

  • 2024 Porsche Macan delayed by up to 12 months
  • Three-row electric SUV in development
  • Taycan facelift soon; updates coming to 911 and Cayenne

The 2024 Porsche Macan EV has been delayed by 12 months, according to a new report.

In a story outlining Porsche’s upcoming launches, Automotive News Europe states deliveries for the forthcoming Macan will commence in 2024 due to software-related supply issues.

This is around one year later than initially anticipated, likely due to the industry-wide semiconductor chip shortage.

2023 Porsche Macan Electric Rendering Theottle 01
10
2024 Porsche Macan rendering

As reported, the electric Macan will be underpinned by the Volkswagen Group’s new Premium Platform Electric (PPE) architecture shared with the upcoming Audi A6 E-Tron and Q6 E-Tron.

It will be sold alongside an updated version of the current petrol Macan, before eventually transitioning to an electric-only offering.

The electric Macan will take its design cues from the Taycan, with a slender headlight design and a streamlined rear lightbar design.

2023 Porsche Macan Electric Rendering Theottle 02
10
2024 Porsche Macan rendering

It will also debut a 'coupe' body style for the Macan, following in the treads of the larger Cayenne Coupe, along with hands-free driving capability and a camera-based driver monitoring system.

In addition, the report states the new Macan will be joined by a larger electric Porsche crossover in the coming years – plus the electric 718 Cayman and Boxster, and updates to the current range.

As first detailed late last year, the new three-row SUV – codenamed K1 – will be longer, wider, and taller than the Cayenne, with a sporty “part sedan, part crossover” look.

Porsche dealers in the United States were reportedly shown a rendering of the new crossover during a meeting, with one claiming the design was “very un-Porsche-like,” with a “flat rear design… not anything like the Macan and Cayenne”.

Wheels Reviews 2021 Porsche Cayenne Coupe E Hybrid Dynamic Front Lean
10

Further details surrounding the new crossover remain uncertain, however, it is likely to be electric-only – in line with Porsche’s plan for 80 per cent of its sales to be battery-powered vehicles by 2030.

Upcoming changes to the Porsche line-up are set to include updates to the current Taycan and 911 (including a hybrid 911), a facelift for the Cayenne ahead of an all-electric redesign in 2026, and battery-powered versions of the Panamera, Cayman and Boxster from mid-decade.

Journalist
Journalist

COMMENTS

Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.