john981

Fresh from Germany's Nr. 1 Newspaper Bild: Since it is too complicated to comply with the EU laws, Porsche will stop producing the ICE Macan for the EU market. It seems outside of the EU we are fine. Lets wait and see. See below the german version of the news. And now we have it also in English

https://www.bild.de/auto/auto-news/a...3708.bild.html

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/cars/news/...es/ar-AA1lvShG

Ironman88

And Germany's Newspaper Bild's headline in December 2024...

"Porsche Macan ICE engine returns to market in 2025 - brought back by buyer demand / apathy for the EV model..."

sunspot2013

I wonder if Porsche will divert more production capacity to EU markets in advance of the cut-off date of 2024, which would of course imply fewer US allocations...

roule

Porsche has been trying to keep their options open. Leipzig assembly plant was expanded for the EV with a €600 million investment, so I assume no significant ICE Macan production capacity was lost.

Latest reports indicate that Porsche will offer the Macan EV to the Euro market, and after the cutoff of ICE Macan sales to the EU, that would leave ICE Macan production with increased capacity to serve the rest of the world. It makes sense to me that Porsche would exploit that capacity to sell more units.

Then again, it is also very likely that Audi has already planned to absorb the worldwide cute ute buyers seeking a luxury ride with an ICE or hybrid powertrain. There's no guarantee that the ICE Macan will survive past this generation if the Q5 models meet sales targets. We will have to look for spy shots around Nurburgring about a year from now.

Bloomberg indicated this week that they think Porsche is pivoting toward China for future growth. I think that's only one element of the strategy --- and perhaps it's incompatible with Porsche's desire to go further upmarket as the Macan EV pricing indicates. The high pricing strategy may be a bad gamble. Chinese buyers are likely more price conscious, and EVs are not necessarily the choice of emerging markets. The newly affluent Chinese will still have to buy whatever fuel Dear Chairman tells them. To such a large geographic country, it's unrealistic to think Xi will cut off gasoline, as his obvious positions on ecology and Russian aggression haven't prompted him to think more wisely/long-term.

Porsche executives have publicly dropped some not-so-subtle hints that they "expect" the EU to delay its EV implementation. No doubt there is some serious lobbying going on. But if the EU sticks to emissions restrictions and EV charging plans as announced, then my fear would be that Porsche could choose eventually to open a manufacturing site for future ICE cars outside of Europe, and convert its Euro factories to make only EVs for the home market. In distributing a global footprint, most companies lose some quality, it's almost inevitable as communication lines cross time zones, languages, and cultures. Whether VW knows it or not, their struggle to maintain top quality in their Mexican vehicles for the NA market has been a major factor in killing the VW brand on this side of the Atlantic. Let's hope Porsche realizes that their quality reputation is not guaranteed, it has to be earned every day.

It would be very nice if Porsche would announce its intentions for the current ICE Macan. Very soon they will know what the world thinks of the latest ugly/expensive EV. It will have massive appeal to its target affluent urban customers but it won't make as much profit as the Macan ICE models have; they've priced themselves out of the mainstream worldwide. I suspect that Porsche will find the base 2.0 engine ICE is the only rational option to be their dominant money maker going forward in most markets. To me that means they will have to continue current model production for another ~2 years while developing the next generation ICE Macan. I would love to see a couple nice swan song specialty Macan models, especially a Club Sport version with significant mass reduction and all the handling goodies. Porsche relies on base ICE Macan models in the BRIC countries, and Americans are going to buy what they're going to buy. The VW Group doesn't really care if the badge on the front is Audi or Porsche, but we all hope a next generation Macan could be lighter, more efficient, cleaner design and no more expensive than the current model. More choices are better.

roule

One more thought: the 2.0 engine ought to be able to easily generate 320 hp without any durability issues. An enhanced Macan T for 2025 would be most welcome.

FavOutLaw

Germans and only EV? Laughable. They would sell out of ICE but the adaptation of only ICE - not in the near future...nor the distant one.

Terry Adams

Ready, fire, aim.
Zero farks given as to which foot the Germans and EU wish to shoot themselves.
These are the same Germans who decommissioned their only six nuke plants, saying unicorn farts would take up the slack.
No wonder the US has become a major exporter of LNG.
The EU has the power of the mandate, but not the market.

Russian Mafia

If you add it all up, government intervention, market forces, mechanical limitations, economic realities, etc., it seems pretty clear either Porsche continues as an ICE manufacturer or we're witnessing their swan song.

sunspot2013

It is hard for me to believe that Porsche will end ICE production of the Macan within the next 2 years. Seems way too premature for a vehicle that is so significant to Porsche and whose customer base may not have the interest or infrastructure to go EV. At the same time, it seems hard to believe that they will reverse course and do something like invest in yet another substantial refresh in the ICE Macan like they did with the Cayenne. They seem hell-bent on EVs. But to be clear, I would love it if they did!