Updated Porsche Macan arriving later this year
The refreshed Macan will use the existing SUV's platform but will have a number of changes inside and out.
Before Porsche's all-electric Macan goes on sale in 2023, the company will launch a heavily updated version of the current SUV. Speaking to journalists on a call earlier this week, Michael Steiner, Porsche's member of the executive board for research and development, said the refreshed Macan will arrive in the "second half of this year."
The 2022 Macan will have the same underpinnings as the current model, but "there's a lot of new things in and outside," Steiner said. While the SUV's basic mechanicals should carry over unchanged, expect some infotainment updates as well as new comfort and convenience features. Maybe the Macan will finally ditch its button-heavy center console in favor of the more modern, backlit design found in the company's newer products.
The upcoming Macan EV, however, will ride on Porsche's new electric-only platform, called PPE, and while the two SUVs will eventually be sold alongside one another, they will not debut at the same time. "There is no sharing in common parts between the existing Macan platform and the electric Macan platform," Steiner said. "You will not see cars that have both [gas and electric powertrains] in the same platform."
The two SUVs will look different, and Steiner says the relationship will be similar to Porsche's Panamera and Taycan four-doors. These cars have the same basic form figure (though the Panamera is a hatchback while the Taycan is a sedan), but are very different in terms of both interior and exterior design.
Steiner said Porsche will sell the two Macans side by side because "there are different speeds worldwide in terms of going electric." As for whether or not the Macan EV will eventually replace the gas-powered SUV outright, Steiner said the company isn't sure. "It is really complicated to predict demand."
