Porsche Macan set to get petrol, hybrid replacements too

Porsche’s new Macan is offered only with electric power, but the brand has confirmed it’s working on a more direct replacement for the outgoing petrol-powered model – though it likely won’t be called Macan.

The new model will be offered with both combustion and hybrid powertrains and will be “touching the Macan segment”, according to Porsche CEO Oliver Blume.

“We have an ambitious engineering timing, aiming for around 36 months for developing such a car seems to be realistic,” said Dr Blume at a conference announcing 2024 financial results.

He further added it could arrive around the same time as the production Volkswagen ID.1, indicating a 2027 launch, and that its lifespan will extend into the 2030s.

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While the new petrol/hybrid SUV appears a fait accompli, Porsche’s press release is more circumspect.

The brand says it’s “evaluating an independent model line in the SUV segment with combustion and hybrid powertrains… [that] could be launched towards the end of the decade”.

“Once the combustion-engine models of the same name have been phased out, the Macan will be sold exclusively as an all-electric model, worldwide,” the company added, effectively confirming any new SUV will wear a different nameplate.

Dr Blume conceded carmakers were much more bullish on the take-up of electric vehicles (EVs) when the new-generation Macan first entered development.

“We have taken the decision already in 2016 to focus only on electric one for the future, and in these times the ramp-up for electromobility was more optimistic,” said Dr Blume.

“We think there is room for another SUV in this segment, we will make a big differentiation from the electric one.

“We still have the combustion engine out of Europe and the other regions of the world, so this will be a very special one but more focused then for the end of the decade, and the ‘30s, for having there an offer not only for Europe but also for the rest of the world when we will stop the combustion-engine Macan also for the rest of the world regions.”

Dr Blume says the first concepts and designs are “very promising”.

“We see the timing correctly adapted to the timing of combustion-engine Macan run out of Europe, and to the ramp up of the electric Macan in all regions of the world, and we think that this car will fit perfect to the segment when we will be able to make a big differentiation in between both cars and to being able to bring a real future vision to Porsche,” he said.

Dr Blume’s announcement indicates Porsche will continue to have two vehicles in this segment.

The outgoing petrol-powered Macan first entered production in 2014, with the electric Macan – on a completely different platform – entering production a decade later.

These two vehicles are sold alongside each other in most markets, though Porsche Australia has previously confirmed orders for the petrol-powered model closed here last year. Only dealer stock remains.

Globally, Porsche hadn’t set an end date for petrol-powered Macan production as it has continued to be popular.

However, it was axed from European showrooms in April 2024 as it no longer complied with strict cybersecurity laws, with the cost of conforming to the regulations potentially resulting in huge investments in the 10-year-old model.

Both the old and new Macan are built in Leipzig, Germany.

It appears Porsche has entered the early testing stage with the new-generation combustion-powered SUV, with an alleged test mule – using a new Audi Q5 body – spotted in Europe.

That could mean the new Porsche SUV will use the Premium Platform Combustion (PPC) underpinning new-generation Audi models like the Q5 and A5.

Porsche and Audi have shared platforms before. The first-generation Macan was related to the contemporary Audi Q5, while the new Macan Electric shares its Premium Platform Electric (PPE) with the Audi Q6 e-tron.

Should the Macan adopt the underpinnings of the Q5, it could be offered with a choice of turbocharged engines, ranging from 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol, a 3.0-litre V6 petrol and a 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel – all with 48-volt mild-hybrid assistance. Plug-in hybrids should also come into the fold later on.

Porsche deputy chairman and CFO Lutz Meschke told Autocar earlier this year the company was “exploring the possibility of equipping some of the originally planned electric models with hybrid drives or internal combustion engines in the future”.

“Conceptual decisions are being made, but what is clear is that we are committed to the combustion engine for much longer,” he added.

While Porsche says it had a sales record in four out of its five global regions in 2024, it warned the ramp-up of electric vehicles (EVs) has been slower than expected.

It’s no longer planning for EVs to account for more than 80 per cent of its sales by 2030, and says instead its ramp-up will “adapt to the market developments” with a “much longer transition phase”.

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