There Could Be A New Petrol Porsche Macan After All

The Porsche Macan has been a huge success story for Porsche over the last decade, shifting over half a million units globally to consistently become one of the most popular models from Stuttgart. Last year, we got a first look at its all-electric successor, which was originally planned to replace the combustion-powered Macan completely – but that now may not be happening.

Autocar cites an unnamed senior figure within Porsche, who reportedly said that a second generation of petrol-powered Macan is under consideration amid a general downturn in electric car sales globally.

The change appears to have been sparked by the downturn in fortunes for Porsche’s other EV, the Taycan, sales of which almost halved year-on-year between 2023 and 2024, slipping from 40,629 to 20,836.

The Macan, meanwhile, also saw a slight sales slip: in 2024, when sales were split between the combustion car and the new EV, 83,795 were sold, compared to 87,355 in 2023 when only the ICE car was on sale. That dip is largely attributed to the combustion Macan’s discontinuation in the EU, where it was dropped last year as it no longer meets stricter cybersecurity standards.

The old car remains on sale in some markets, including the UK and North America, alongside its new electric counterpart, although it was originally expected that it would be phased out this year, leaving the Macan as an EV only.

Should Porsche change course and develop a new petrol-powered Macan, it would mirror the approach the manufacturer’s taking with the bigger Cayenne. Originally, that was to be replaced by an EV, development of which is well underway, but last year, Porsche changed its tactic, announcing that the current combustion-powered Cayenne would get an update and remain on sale alongside the new EV into the 2030s.

What platform a new combustion Macan might be based on isn’t clear, but the VW Group’s new Premium Platform Combustion, which also underpins the new Audi A5 and Q5, would seem a likely candidate. The Macan EV is based on the similarly-sized Premium Platform Electric underpinnings.

Porsche’s electric woes also extend to its planned EV successor to the 718 sports car, which is in theory to be revealed this year. However, it now faces delays, largely due to the bankruptcy of battery supplier Northvolt. What’s clear is that Porsche, like many other manufacturers, is having to rapidly adapt its approach to keep pace with a constantly fluctuating market.