TikiLou

I was at a Porsche-sponsored event yesterday and sat next to a regional rep at lunch who said that as far as he knows, the ONLY ICE Macan that will be on sale alongside the EV Macan is the base. He said Porsche is considering still selling the S as well, but as of now, their plan is to only sell the base gas-powered car alongside the EV when it debuts.

For whatever that's worth.

Larson E. Rapp

That may be their plan, but they will walk it back. Bookmark this post.

BMinSFL

It sounds like a car sales tactic (buy it now before it's gone) but more clever in terms of ending up in these posts to the masses.

Would a regional rep actually have good intel on the ultimate plans for the company's highest selling vehicle?

Granted the base is the highest selling trim so it somewhat makes sense but not as much for Porsche. Those wanting the more visceral GTS are less likely to buy electric, I would think. But there are also plenty who would give that up for the newest, shiniest and fastest toy in the Macan-verse. Maybe the ultimate goal is to direct those visceral-seeking buyers to the 911 which seems it will ultimately be the last remaining gas powered car.

Will be interesting to see. I was picturing more of a Panamera / Taycan, Q5/E-Tron relationship.

TikiLou

I agree, just sharing.

TikiLou

This wasn't a presentation...we were eating sandwiches, I was just talking about the '24 Macan GTS I had just picked up (so he definitely wasn't trying to sell me, at least) and I asked him if he knew how long they'd keep selling the ICE Macan alongside the EV and he said "What we've been told is..."

There's a significant price delta between the Macan and 911, considering a very nicely spec'd Macan GTS is less than a 911 Carrera with no options at all. And, you know, if you're shopping for a Macan, is the 911 really a good substitute? Not exactly winning in the utility or 4 seats department. I would imagine Macans are usually dailies, too, and the 911 less so, so there's mileage to consider on that "trade-up" that people might not be willing or able to justify, price-wise.

mrclam

I think the Taycan is a phenomenal success given the market constraints they had - it's more expensive to make an EV, and they brought the panamera a tier down, and have sold the taycan in huge volumes, especially compared to the panamera.

Given the higher cost of an EV, the higher general performance of EVs, and that this is a big chunk of their business that needs to transition - I think it makes sense for Porsche to start at the top end of the Macan range and then work their way down. I thought they might start with just the GTS level, but replacing the S would certainly be more aggressive.

To date, I don't think we've seen any manufacturer reverse course on their transition to EVs. They've adjusted volumes, but I doubt they will reverse course.

sunspot2013

As someone with an S currently that wants to get in on a GTS before they go away, I never would have thought Porsche would stop selling the S/GTS and just keep the base around as an ICE alternative to the EV. If anything, I would have expected them to drop the S and slap a nice hefty price increase on the GTS to extract maximum profits from the ICE die-hards. I wouldn't think the decision is being driven due to regulatory constraints on emissions. I don't want to turn this into an anti-EV post, because I am not anti-EV, but it is just flat out sad that Porsche is seeming to cancel production of popular, profitable, ICE vehicles (see also 718).

Cactus

Tell us you want to cut Macan sales by 85% without telling us you want to cut Macan sales.....

mrclam

I agree that it's sad to watch. There must be much internal debate - I know I've certainly received their surveys asking what would be valued in an EV.

I see your perspective that the die hard ICE fans will clamor to pick up whatever remains - it certainly accelerated a purchase on my end. From a business perspective, if you think you need to lead a change, I think you tend to want to commit to that. Porsche doesn't tend to try to sell itself on value, and they want to drive margins up, so I think that pitching the new thing at the bottom of their range isn't in their DNA. Time will tell but my own suspicion is that government subsidies accelerated adoption of EVs prior to actual market fit - but that we're seeing leveling demand and this is going to be challenging for all automakers.

#1SomeGuy

Keep in mind they've pretty much never launched a car starting with a GTS trim...the GTS (in all models) is always a few years later as a bumped up S or turned down Turbo.

The first Macan EV will be the Turbo, hence why they free'd up that trim from the ICE Macan, then I suspect we'd see an S after that, and then it's a toss up between a base, GTS, or Turbo S trim after that.

TikiLou

And realistically, the performance difference between an S / GTS / Turbo Macan EV will likely not be that huge anyway. They'll all be lightning quick.

What WILL be interesting to see if if any of the Macan EV are RWD. To me, that doesn't make sense, but it also wouldn't surprise me.

sunspot2013

Interesting news down under...

https://www.carexpert.com.au/car-new...-electric-cars

https://www.carexpert.com.au/car-new...ification-hits

From the second article, it seems maybe the discontinuation of the ICE Macan in Australia starting from 2025 is being driven by an Australian regulatory requirement that the Macan won't satisfy, and evidently Porsche doesn't want to retrofit.

Larson E. Rapp

They will walk it back. VAG still owns the majority of Porsche AG, and VAG is hurting badly right now. Any experiments in progress will be axed. The company needs a sure thing, not another science-fair project.

As for the Macan EV, they should've made it a hybrid. Then they would already have my name on a waiting list, instead of on a wise-*** comment.

(Edit: and yes, I know, the ownership picture is much more complicated than that, but the point stands. This isn't a good time for any of these companies to throw business away.)

wingless

The plus side to this obtuse humanity-hating, planet-killing plan is that vehicle availability will be terrific for poorly-informed consumers.

Larson E. Rapp

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure the Macan EV will be a great car, but it can't replace the ICE in some critical (to me) aspects.

It's 7 AM in Portland now. I could hop in my Macan S and be in LA by bedtime. That won't be possible in the EV, so I'm not interested in upgrading. If they had made it a hybrid, I could still do that, and I would also no longer feel bad about firing it up for a 1-mile trip to the grocery store.

The next Macan could have been one of the most versatile passenger cars on the road, but the fanatical push to pure electrification will instead place it among the least versatile. Ditching the existing V6 Macans for it would be asinine.