Porsche Is Ditching EV-Forward SUV Push; Three New Gas SUVs Slated for Launch

Porsche's gas-powered SUVs aren't going anywhere

written by Tom Baker
edited by Nick Yekikian
6/17/2026
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What's new: Gas-powered replacements for the Macan and Cayenne are on the way to sit alongside their EV siblings. Plus, Porsche's incoming three-row crossover will be gas or hybrid, not EV.
Why it matters: EV sales growth has faltered in key markets, including the U.S. As a result, Porsche will hedge its bets by renewing important gas models in a move away from EV-only strategies.
Edmunds says: It's an important move that reflects the reality: Not all crossover buyers will be ready to go all-electric this decade, or even next.

— Lake Starnberg, Germany

Porsche will pivot away from its previous EV-forward strategy for key models by breathing new life into combustion versions of the Macan compact SUV and Cayenne midsizer. Plus, a three-row model, internally known as the "K1," which was already in development as an EV, will ditch electric power in favor of launching with more palatable gas and plug-in hybrid options.

The move is a departure from Porsche's earlier Strategy 2030, which would have seen the company transition core models toward fully electric powertrains. The previous approach was based on bullish EV growth expectations that predicted demand would continue to surge for fully electric vehicles, as it had in the late 2010s and early 2020s, and held that over 80% of Porsche sales should be all-electric by the end of the decade. But softening EV demand means this won't be the case.

Now, Porsche is rapidly preparing a new gas-powered compact SUV for launch "not later than 2028," according to chief executive Oliver Blume. Set to share its Premium Platform Combustion (PPC) platform and some powertrains with the new Audi Q5/SQ5, insiders suggest the new model may not wear the Macan badge.

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As for the old Macan, production will stop in the summer of this year. Porsche may have enough Macans to tide buyers over into 2027, but an availability gap for the ICE model might appear in 2028, depending on final arrival timing for the replacement model. Hence the rush to build this eventual Macan replacement.

Porsche has avoided a similar situation with its larger crossover. While a new Cayenne arrives this summer exclusively as an EV, the brand has softened its target of 80% EV sales and last year announced that the third-generation gas-powered Cayenne would remain in production for the foreseeable future.

Now, executives have told Edmunds that the company won't just keep the aging Cayenne alive. Instead, Porsche will send a new gas Cayenne model into production in 2028 or 2029 to supplement the EV with updated V6, V8 and plug-in hybrid options. Like the Macan replacement, the new combustion Cayenne will use the Volkswagen Group's PPC platform.

"We will deliver combustion and hybrid Cayennes way far into the next decade. We are talking about 2030-something where we will definitely offer both and also have a further development of combustion and hybrid models. It will not be the car that we have now for the next 10 years — we will also develop those cars as well to make them ready for the future," said Porsche product spokesperson Ben Weinberger.

Explaining the importance of selling EV and gas Cayenne models simultaneously, Porsche SUV drive systems manager Timo Henn told Edmunds: "On the one hand, you can have a car which is maybe more mechanical-feeling. You can have a V8 engine, which is maybe important to some customers."

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While Weinberger said it is "a lot of effort" that "costs a lot of money" to develop duplicate Cayenne versions, Porsche management has accepted that the U.S. is pulling in the opposite direction to Europe and Asia in relation to vehicle emissions regulations. This creates incentives to build both EV and combustion-engine models.

The final piece of the puzzle will be catering to customers who want a third row in a crossover that is larger than the 196-inch Cayenne. While Porsche has been developing a secret three-row EV model known as K1 for several years, the project recently went through a seismic shift with the car shifted from an electric platform to PPC, which will see it use a familiar lineup of six-cylinder and eight-cylinder engines instead.

Porsche says the rationale for the larger model is a simple one: A third row does not fit properly into either the existing combustion-engine Cayenne or the new Cayenne Electric. "It is definitely not planned to put a third row in [the Cayenne]. For the future, there might be something coming up. It's going to happen, but definitely not in [the Cayenne]," said Weinberger.

While the K1 will have a different name when it goes into production, it is expected to be similar in length and amenity to the forthcoming Audi Q9 model.

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by Tom Baker

Tom Baker is a Europe-based automotive journalist with more than a decade of experience road testing and analyzing new vehicles. Originally from Australia, he now works as a foreign correspondent covering international first drives, motor shows and executive interviews from the heart of the global car industry. Tom combines a background in rigorous, real-world road testing with a strong interest in the business of the automotive industry, covering everything from platform strategy and electrification to market positioning and profitability.

edited by Nick Yekikian

Nick Yekikian has worked in the automotive industry since 2019. He has written close to a thousand car-related articles and tested and reviewed more than 200 vehicles over the course of his career. Nick is the Senior News Editor at Edmunds and has also contributed to MotorTrend, Automobile Magazine and Super Street. When Nick isn't zipping around town in his latest used-car find, he's probably making digital art in Photoshop or playing disc golf with friends.

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