Porsche has said as early as 2019 that the next-generation Macan will be an electric-only model. But now, it seems like they’re having second thoughts on ditching internal combustion engine for the Macan, at least in the US.
As reported by Automotive News, Porsche will instead be taking a “wait-and-see approach” to go EV-only with its best-selling model in the US, following discussions at its dealer meeting last week.
The sudden U-turn stems from the lack of well-maintained public charging infrastructure to support the Macan’s customer base in the US. The SUV currently accounts for nearly a third of all Porsche sales in the US, which is expected to rise to 80,000 units in 2024.
“They got customer pushback, they realised there are not enough chargers out there,” a Porsche retailer in attendance of the meeting told the publication. “They know it’s a problem, and they’re trying to figure out how to do this most efficiently.”
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The charging network availability issue is further exacerbated as the majority of charging facility in the US utilises Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) ports, rather than the Type 2 CCS connections that Porsche uses on its EVs.
The NACS port standard recently received widespread adoption, with major carmakers, including Ford, GM, Volvo, and Polestar, all committing to use the charging port on their cars manufactured for the US market moving forward. Porsche, however, is still hesitant on following the rest of the industry in the US.
Initially scheduled to begin production this year ahead of its official launch in the second half of 2023, the upcoming second-generation Porsche Macan will be built on the marque’s Premium Platform Electric (PPE) architecture, featuring a 100 kWh battery pack and an 800V electric architecture. The latter enables DC fast charging of up to 350 kW, allowing it to charge from 5-80% in under 25 minutes.
Porsche also previously announced that the fully-electric Macan will be available in both all- and rear-wheel drive configurations, the former giving up to a maximum output of 450 kW (612 hp) and 1,000 Nm of torque.
It’s unclear if Porsche’s decision for the US will spill over to other markets.
