Porsche Confirms Plans for a New Flagship Electric SUV
Porsche CEO Oliver Blume has confirmed that the company will build a new flagship electric SUV.
The new EV model will sit above the Macan and Cayenne and is expected to inherit tech from the Mission R concept car.
Porsche also wants 80 percent of global sales to be EVs by 2030, it plans to make the 718 Cayman sports car electric-only around 2035.
As Porsche continues to prepare for its upcoming IPO, CEO Oliver Blume announced Monday that the company is planning a new flagship electric SUV. The new model will be separate from the upcoming Macan EV and is expected to sit above the Macan and Cayenne in the company’s lineup.
The new car will be produced in Leipzig and will reportedly share technology with the Mission R electric racecar that Porsche revealed last September. That concept car features a 900-volt electrical system that the company says can charge from 5 to 80 percent in 15 minutes with the proper charging system. The Mission R is powered by two electric motors, a 429-hp unit on the front axle and a 644-hp unit delivering power to the rear. Power to the motors is produced through an 80.0-kWh battery.
Porsche's forthcoming all-electric SUV is intended to help the company capitalize on the growing popularity of electric vehicles and SUVs. “We are targeting the higher margin segments in particular and aim to tap into new sales opportunities this way,” Blume said in a company press release.
Porsche says it wants 80 percent of its global sales to be electric models by the end of the decade. The Macan EV, which we originally expected to arrive for the 2023 model year, has been delayed for a year. The delay is a result of Volkswagen Group's software development falling behind schedule, according to a report by Automotive News Europe.
Excitingly—or not, depending on your perspective—Porsche plans on making the 718 Cayman an electric-only model in the next few years as well. “We are pushing ahead with our electric offensive: by the middle of the decade, we want to offer our 718 mid-engine sports car exclusively in all-electric form,” Blume said in a company press release.
We love the 718 Cayman for a multitude of reasons. Chief among them is the purity of its mission. Mid-engine, rear-wheel drive, and an available DIY gearbox. We enjoy electric cars for their quickness, and Porsche proved with the Taycan it can make a great-driving EV. We just hope that when the company starts electrifying its iconic sports cars, it preserves the personality traits that endeared us to their gas-powered predecessors.
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