Porsche sticks with plans to stop some combustion model production

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Porsche is sticking to its guns in its transition of some models to electric vehicles, despite a recent weakness in demand for battery-powered cars, the carmaker’s head of production told magazine Automobilwoche.

Porsche executive board member Albrecht Reimold said that the petrol-powered version of SUV model Macan for non-European markets would be produced no longer than 2026.

“The platform has reached the end of its cycle,” said Reimold.

A Porsche spokesperson said that an earlier report by Automobilwoche that this constitues a faster transition was not correct.

After the production stop the company would focus on electric Macan versions to push Porsche’s sustainability agenda, even though overall EV demand had seen a slump, Reimold was quoted as saying.

“I don’t let the success (of the electric Macan) be defined by a single number,” the executive was quoted as saying.

Combustion engine versions of Boxster and Cayman sportscars, a model range known as 718, would no longer be produced from some time next year and the company is already focused on electric versions to be launched next year, Reimold added.

Production of petrol-powered versions of 718 and Macan for European markets have already been stopped.

(This story has been corrected to clarify that transition plans were not accelerated, throughout the copy)

(Reporting by Ludwig Burger, Editing by Friederike Heine)