New Delhi: Porsche has been leading the charge in abandoning most of their plans to go completely electric. The company has now said that they will tweak their upcoming three-row electric SUV, sitting above the Cayenne. However, instead of bringing it with a huge battery, Porsche will launch it exclusively with an internal combustion engine and plug-in hybrid powertrain.
Consumers haven’t given a positive response to the battery adoption, and the EV penetration has been slow. This has made Porsche rework their strategies. Porsche CEO Oliver Blume has stated that they were aligning with the market demands and making strategies according to them. He has noted that there were massive changes in the auto industry.
What does it mean for Porsche’s shift in strategy?
Porsche to continue with ICE vehicles well into 2030
Porsche’s shift includes keeping the ICE versions of their current models and says it will be supplemented by “brand-defining” models and combustion engine, and this includes the three-row SUV as well. The company is going to delay launches of some their EV models as well. They will also be delaying the launch of a few EV models. The delay includes a new EV platform that is due to launch in the 2030s. Porsche have said that it will now redesign for other Volkswagen Group brands.
It is clear that Panamera, Cayenne and Porsche’s other ICE cars are going to live as far as 2030. The brand from Stuttgart is planning on bringing out a new generation of successors for the cars while also updating their existing all-electric model range.
Porsche is set to bring the electric 718, which will join the lineup of Taycan, Macan, and Cayenne EVs. Porsche had previously teased the three-row SUV with K1 as a codename, a couple of years back, while announcing Cayenne EV. Blume had said the plans were to extend the lineup back in 2022.
The SUV is likely to come with VW’s new Scalable Systems Platform, which mixes the combustion engine and battery-electric platform together. The EV was earlier scheduled to come out in 2027, but the deadline is currently uncertain. Porsche’s recent backfoot on EV follows a trend of a host of automakers discontinuing with a full electric vehicle portfolio.