Porsche Macan EV will have 'significantly more' range than Taycan

Two years after Porsche confirmed the development of a Macan EV, prototypes of the new all-electric SUV are hitting the road for public testing. The battery-electric Macan is expected to go on sale in 2023, though an updated version of the current Macan will arrive later this year.

"It's the next right step for Porsche," Michael Steiner, member of the company's executive board for research and development, told journalists on a call earlier this week. This Macan will be the first vehicle built on Porsche's new dedicated electric vehicle architecture, called PPE (for Premium Platform Electric), and it will be sold alongside the gas-powered version.

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The Macan and Macan EV will be "very close" in terms of size, Steiner said, though the two SUVs won't share common architecture. In fact, Porsche isn't even sure if the EV will actually wear the Macan name. "We call it internally Macan electric," Steiner said. "The final decision whether it will be [named] Macan in the market is not decided today."

Steiner said the Macan EV will build on the success of Porsche's electric Taycan sedan. "The 800-volt architecture is taken from the Taycan and we'll bring this to the PPE platform for the Macan," he said. But while the Taycan has been criticized for its lackluster range -- though the EPA's numbers are extremely easy to beat -- Steiner says this won't be an issue with the Macan. "We learned range and range anxiety is an issue in some markets," he said, and while exact specifications are still TBD right now, Steiner said the Macan will have "significantly more [range] than the Taycan."

Like the Taycan, the Macan EV will likely be offered with two different battery sizes, but not necessarily in every country. "Technically we are prepared for two battery sizes but we learned ... most customers look for the bigger range," Steiner said. "Most probably we will look at least in the North American market for having one, and this would be the bigger battery."

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Currently, the base and 4S versions of the Taycan sedan come standard with a 79.2-kilowatt-hour battery while a 93.4-kWh pack is optional. The Taycan Turbo, Turbo S and every version of the Taycan Cross Turismo wagon are equipped with the larger 93.4-kWh battery.

The Macan EV is in its final phase of development, though 2023 is still a long way away. "By the time the all-electric Macan is launched onto the market in 2023, it will have covered some 3 million test kilometers worldwide in varying conditions," the company said in a statement. Porsche said it is also running 20 digital prototypes, "for the purpose of simulation in a number of development categories, such as aerodynamics, energy management, operation and acoustics."

The Macan EV is a big part of Porsche's ambitious electrification plans. The company expects electrified vehicles (hybrids and EVs) to account for 80% of its sales by the year 2030, and Porsche is aiming to be totally carbon-neutral by that time, as well.

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