Porsche surprised many when it announced the now-new Macan would become an electric-only model, with its best-seller no longer offering petrol and diesel power like many of its luxury SUV rivals.
That surprise has turned to a lack of sales, as the Macan EV has reportedly struggled to replicate the sales volume – and profits – of its internal combustion engine-powered predecessor, leading Porsche to have a rethink.
Now, a report from the UK’s Car magazine – by respected German auto industry insider, Georg Kacher – claims Porsche will announce in March whether it will bring back the engine-powered Macan.
“A combustion version – presumably sharing underpinnings with the new Audi Q5 – would most likely take three years to develop, meaning a long absence from the market of one of Porsche’s biggest sellers,” Kacher claims.
While this is the first we’ve heard of Porsche putting a potential date on the engined Macan’s revival, it’s not the first time we’ve seen evidence of it happening.
An alleged test mule was spied in Europe earlier this year, wearing camouflage despite being an Audi Q5 – a car which had already been revealed at that point. However, it was flanked by other Porsche electric models, suggesting it was being benchmarked.
The Volkswagen Group’s Premium Platform Combustion (PPC) architecture underpins the new Audi and is so far exclusive to the four-ringed brand, though the Q5 and Macan have previously been twins under the skin.
Audi’s Q6 e-tron, which is the Q5’s de facto electric alternative – runs on the Premium Platform Electric (PPE) architecture in the Macan EV.
For context, if the Macan does make an ICE comeback on PPC, we can expect it to share some of the Q5’s turbocharged 48-volt mild-hybrid powertrain options, such as a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol, a 3.0-litre V6 petrol and a 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel engine.
European production of the ICE Macan ended in April 2024, as the SUV no longer met newly introduced cybersecurity laws. With the high cost of complying the existing 10-year old model with the regulations, Porsche opted to make the electric switch.
Of course, the new Q5 is also compliant with those new laws, meaning there’s one less hurdle in the way of the Macan to return with petrol and/or diesel power.
Production of the ICE Macan for Australia ended at the same time as Europe, though the brand expected to have remaining stock through the first half 2025, even though orders from the factory haven’t been available for a year.
In the opening six months of 2025, Porsche reported 1479 deliveries of the Macan in Australia, an increase by just four examples over the same period last year. However, just 584 deliveries of the Macan EV have been made, representing under 40 per cent of the model’s overall volume.
Despite these reports, as recently as November, at the launch of the Macan, the SUV’s product line vice president Jörg Kerner ruled out a move back to petrol power.
“In the Macan at the moment it’s not possible and it’s not planned,” Kerner said.
“At the moment it’s not planned – combustion Macan – because we think we can do with the electric Macan everything better.”
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