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Porsche is announcing an updated electric vehicle roadmap that includes an EV version of the Cayenne and a top-end electric SUV. The new vehicles will follow the Macan EV coming in 2024 and the all-electric 718.
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Porsche is working on a brand-new high-end electric SUV, the luxury automaker announced during its annual press conference on Monday. The yet-to-be-named EV will be fourth in the company’s updated electric vehicle lineup that includes an electric Macan for 2024, followed by an electric version of the two-seater 718 and a newly announced all-electric version of the Cayenne.
The electric SUV will be positioned as a performance model above the Cayenne and will be based on a new Porsche-developed SSP Sport electric vehicle platform. The automaker’s parent company, Volkswagen, had been developing the new SSP platform to succeed its MEB platform. But the process has been plagued with software issues, causing a delay to Volkswagen’s “Project Trinity” that was to be the platform’s debut vehicle.
Reports suggest Porsche’s new SUV will be a large seven-seater, which, like the Cayenne, would be appealing to those looking for an ultra-luxury family hauler. Oliver Blume, Porsche’s chair of the executive board, said in a keynote that the new SUV will have a “completely new experience” in the interior, will have automated driving functions, and its exterior will feature “the typical Porsche flyline.” Blume is also CEO of Volkswagen Group, replacing Herbert Diess last year in a surprise shake-up.
Porsche has a new focus on building electric SUVs, which Blume explained is due to growing profits in the segment, particularly in the US and China. The Macan fulfills the compact SUV segment; the Cayenne, which comes in hybrid options already, fits the midsize SUV category; and now, the new SUV fills the high end.
Other luxury automakers like Mercedes-Benz and BMW have been diversifying their all-electric SUV offerings as well. Mercedes-Benz built an SUV version of its flagship EQS sedan and is releasing the SUV version of the EQE sometime this year. Meanwhile, BMW has a high-tech beast in the iX and has a more performant M60 model as well.
Porsche also announced that the two-seater 718 EV will be sold alongside the gas model but will later make the electric version exclusively. The automaker is planning to deliver more than 80 percent of its new vehicles as fully electric by 2030.
Porsche’s only all-electric vehicle available to purchase today is the Taycan sport sedan, which, like Tesla’s Model S, is starting to get a bit stale compared to the rest of the competition. Porsche’s sister company, Audi, arguably built a better-looking electric sedan in the Audi RS E-tron GT, which borrows the EV architecture of the Taycan.