‘A Real Porsche:’ CEO Says New Gas SUV Won’t Be A Rebadged Audi

Europeans had to say goodbye to the first-generation Macan in 2024 when Porsche retired the model after it failed to meet new cybersecurity regulations. Globally, the gasoline-fueled crossover is going out of production sometime in the middle of the year, leaving a huge gap in the company’s lineup. That void won’t be filled for another two years or so, when Zuffenhausen launches a new gas-powered crossover.

As with the original Macan, the replacement will be closely related to the Audi Q5. However, Porsche CEO Michael Leiters clarified during a Q&A session following the company’s annual conference that it will be more than a simple case of rebadging. When asked by an analyst whether development could be accelerated, given that the platform is readily available, the head honcho explained why it will still take a few years to bring it to market:

‘We have to make sure that this is a real Porsche. And this needs some content, some product substance, some technology, which is new on this car – will be new on these cars and therefore, a certain time, is necessary to come to industrialization and to come to the launch of this product.’

Leiters went on to say the new entry-level crossover will launch around 2028 and is part of a tie-up with fellow Volkswagen Group brand Audi. Porsche is paying a one-time license fee worth €1 billion to the Ingolstadt-based company, but Leiters explained it’s not just for the Macan replacement, but for other Porsche and Audi models:

‘Let me also underline that the license Jochen Breckner [member of the Board for Finance and IT] mentioned – the license charge is not only for the Macan. This is for several models we are doing together on both sides, Audi with Porsche and Porsche with Audi. So obviously, this is the part we paid to Audi, but there is more than only one model.’

He refrained from going into details about the other models. Still, another pair of vehicles we can think of includes the 718 Boxster/Cayman EVs and the Concept C. Additionally, the first-ever Q9 could lend its platform to a three-row SUV that Porsche announced a while back. The new model, positioned above the Cayenne, was originally intended to be purely electric, but it is now set to launch first with large-displacement combustion engines.

As for the timeline of these products, the Q9 will get the ball rolling in the coming months. Audi CEO Gernot Döllner also confirmed this week that the Concept C will go into production next year. At Porsche, Leiters says the Capital Markets Day this fall will bring news regarding the product portfolio. For now, we know the new gas crossover will launch in roughly two years, while the bigger SUV’s introduction remains TBA.

A further expansion of the lineup could come in the form of a more expensive sports car. As Motor1 exclusively reported, a new hypercar is officially under consideration, with the company exploring a model positioned above the 911. Elsewhere, reports have emerged about the possibility of a Taycan–Panamera merger, so it’s safe to say a lot is happening these days at Porsche HQ.

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Source: Tim Stevens / Motor1

Motor1’s Take: Porsche appears to be making the right moves by recommitting to combustion engines with new SUVs and potentially a hypercar. With the Boxster and Cayman also regaining ICE power in the near future, the company is setting itself up for success.

But as with other luxury automakers, it will need a miracle to reverse the sales slump in China. Then again, even in such an EV-focused market, there is still demand for emotional, high-end ICE models. Out of all the products mentioned here, the ICE Macan replacement is by far the most important from a global volume perspective, and it can’t come soon enough.