The next-generation Porsche Macan is going electric, but on Monday, the automaker announced another high-end electric SUV project.
“We plan to add a new fully electric luxury SUV model to our attractive portfolio,” said Porsche CEO Oliver Blume in a press release for the carmaker’s Capital Markets Day. The new EV, to be built in Leipzig, Germany, is part of Porsche’s strategy to tap into higher-margin market segments, Blume stated.
The emphasis on luxury and high profit margins suggests a positioning quite high in Porsche’s model hierarchy, perhaps above the Porsche Cayenne. The new model could also be an electric equivalent of the Cayenne, similar to how the Taycan is a gran turismo equivalent of the Panamera with the flavor of the 911, Porsche’s sports car icon.
The Taycan has become a flagship for Porsche’s technology, and an electric SUV equivalent could further propel the brand in that direction. Porsche plans to start building its own battery cells, initially for racing purposes. Executives believe this is crucial to maintaining a technological edge in the upcoming era of electric vehicles, akin to the advantage Porsche cultivated with internal combustion engines.
Porsche did not discuss a timeline for this flagship electric SUV, but it noted that the electric Macan will arrive first. It is also planning an electric variant of its 718 family sports cars (the Boxster convertible and the Cayman coupe) by the middle of the decade.
Earlier this year, Porsche confirmed its own charging network, along with the 718 project. The first station is scheduled to open in early 2023, with subsequent construction.
