Porsche’s New Flagship SUV Won’t Be Electric—At Least, Not Initially

Porsche is pumping the brakes, hard, on electric vehicles. Today, the company announced that it will tweak an upcoming three-row electric SUV, which will slot above the Cayenne. Instead of giving it a big battery, Porsche will launch it exclusively with a combustion engine and plug-in hybrid powertrain.

Consumers aren’t adopting battery-electric vehicles as quickly as predicted, forcing Porsche and others to rethink their product strategies. Porsche CEO Oliver Blume stated that this realignment aligns with the “new market realities and changing customer demands.”

Blume also said:

‘Today, we have set the final steps in the realignment of our product strategy. We are currently experiencing massive changes within the automotive environment. That’s why we’re realigning Porsche across the board.’

Porsche’s shift will include keeping the gas-powered version of its current models, which it says will “be supplemented by brand-defining vehicle models with combustion engines.” This includes the new three-row SUV.

The company will also delay the launch of “certain all-electric vehicle models.” This delay includes a new EV platform set to launch in the 2030s, which Porsche will now redesign with other Volkswagen Group brands.

We’ll see the Panamera, Cayenne, and Porsche’s other combustion cars on the road well into the 2030s. The company also now plans to launch a new generation of successors for these models while updating its existing all-electric model range.

Porsche is still committed to the electric 718, which will join the Taycan, Macan, and Cayenne EVs. Frank Moser, the vice president of the 718 and 911 lineups, recently called the upcoming car “brilliant.” But of course, he would.

Photo by: Porsche

Porsche first teased its fully electric three-row SUV, codenamed the K1, over two years ago, when it announced the electric Cayenne, with Blume announcing plans to expand the lineup in 2022.

The SUV is supposed to ride on VW Group’s new Scalable Systems Platform, which consolidates its combustion-engine and battery-electric platforms into one. The EV was scheduled to arrive in 2027, but it’s unclear if the powertrain shift will delay its launch. Porsche didn’t say.

The company’s new strategy might make enthusiasts happy, but it will come at an actual cost. Automotive News reported today that Porsche’s shift away from electric vehicles will cost VW Group €5.1 billion ($5.9 billion at today’s exchange rate.

Automakers are making big changes in response to a chaotic industry, with Porsche facing new tariffs, declining markets, and a slowdown in EVs. It’s just the latest automaker to realize consumers aren’t ready for electric vehicles.