Porsche unveils all-electric Macan prototypes, but it makes a big mistake too

Porsche unveiled today camouflaged all-electric Macan prototypes hitting public roads for testing for the first time.

However, the German automaker also announced that the new all-electric version will come with a new generation of the Macan with an internal combustion engine.

The all-electric Macan is going to be Porsche’s next big step into electrification after the Macan.

It is not only going to be an entry in the popular SUV segment, but it is also based on the new PPE platform co-developed by Porsche and Audi.

The all-electric Macan is coming to market for the model year 2023, but Porsche is already investing heavily in the new vehicle with a new factory for it.

Now, Porsche is announcing that the Macan all-electric prototypes are hitting the roads for the first time:

“The all-electric Macan is ready for the road: after initial testing on the proving grounds of the Porsche Development Centre in Weissach, the well-camouflaged next-generation prototypes of the compact SUV are now heading outside Porsche premises for the first time.”

They released a few images of the prototypes, but they are camouflaged:

Now those prototypes are going to cover around 3 million km (1.86 million miles) before the car goes into production.

Porsche is setting a goal for the all-electric Macan to be the sportiest model in the segment:

“The demanding test programme for the all-electric Macan, carried out under the extremes of climatic and topographical conditions, includes disciplines such as the charging and conditioning of the high-voltage battery, which has to meet very rigorous standards. “Like the Taycan, the all-electric Macan, with its 800-volt architecture, will offer typical Porsche E-Performance,” promises Steiner, citing development goals such as long-distance range, high-performance fast charging and reproducible best-in-class performance figures: “The all-electric Macan will be the sportiest model in its segment.”

Along with the announcement of launching the all-electric Macan prototypes, Porsche also confirmed that the automaker is bringing a new version of the Macan with an internal combustion engine to market:

“The market launch of the all-electric Macan – the first Porsche to be built on the Premium Platform Electric (PPE) – is planned for 2023. Porsche is positioning itself flexibly for the transition to pure electromobility. “In Europe, demand for electric vehicles continues to rise, but the pace of change varies considerably across the world. That’s why we’re going to launch another conventionally powered successor to the current Macan in the course of 2021,” says Michael Steiner. The new combustion-engined Macan models will be offered alongside the all-electric Macan in the future. Until then, however, it still has millions of test kilometres to cover – both in real life and virtually.”

This new vehicle is going to be unveiled later this year.

Update: Porsche told us that the new gas-powered Macan will be an “evolution of the existing one and now a brand new generation like the electric version, which will be built on its own platform.

Electrek‘s take

I am always surprised when automakers launch new gas-powered vehicles or new generations of gas-powered vehicles these days.

Now launching a new all-electric version of the Macan at the same time is not a good strategy in my opinion.

I’ve never been a fan of making electric versions of the existing vehicles since it creates am unnecessary point of comparison and most often an unfavorable one at the sticker price.

Even though EVs are often cheaper on total cost of ownership, the sticker price still carries a lot of weight, and for some buyers, if a dealer has both on their lot, they might go for the cheaper one.

Also, if Porsche does its job well, which they have done with the Taycan, there’s no doubt that the new all-electric version based on the PPE is going to be a better vehicle than a gas Macan.

Therefore, I think it’s a mistake for Porsche to not go all-in with the electric version for the new Macan.