Porsche’s second mass-market electric model after the Taycan, the Macan EV, has just entered production at the newly expanded factory in the city of Leipzig, located in Germany’s Saxony region. The plant also builds the combustion engine Macan and Panamera, and until 2018, it was also where versions of the Cayenne and Bentley Continental GT were manufactured.
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More Porsche EVs to follow
After launching the Macan EV and putting it into production, Porsche will now focus on the fully electric 718 sports car and after that it plans to launch a large three-row electric SUV.
The Macan EV is the first pure electric model to roll out of the Leipzig factory, and EV production was only possible after a $650 million expansion of the plant. This was also meant to bring the factory closer to becoming carbon-neutral, following Porsche’s plan to make its entire production chain carbon-neutral by 2030.
Porsche wants 80% of its sales to be electric vehicles by the end of the decade, and it has plans to continue launching EVs. The next big model launch is the fully electric 718, which will be available as the drop-top Boxster and Cayman coupe with either single-motor rear-wheel drive or dual-motor all-wheel drive.
Gallery: Porsche Macan EV Production
The Porsche Macan EV is available as the Macan 4 and Macan Turbo, with 402 horsepower and 630 horsepower, respectively. Both have a dual-motor all-wheel drive configuration, the same 100 kWh battery pack and are expected to have an EPA range of around 300 miles. Porsche is bound to launch more extreme and higher-powered versions of the Macan EV.
After launching its first electric sports car, Porsche will shift focus to its largest vehicle ever, a three-row electric SUV to sit above the Cayenne in the lineup that should arrive before 2027.
According to Porsche CEO Oliver Blume, the company is “convinced that electromobility is the future. It is the joint task of business, politics and society to drive forward the transformation of mobility together. However, this transformation is not happening everywhere at the same speed. That is why we remain flexible – with an attractive product portfolio. And with three different powertrain types, namely emotional combustion engines, efficient plug-in hybrids and all-electric models. The Porsche factory in Leipzig is a pioneer and a flagship as regards flexibility and sustainability.”
You can already order the Porsche Macan EV, which starts at $78,800 for the base model or $105,300 for the Macan Turbo, but options can quickly increase the price past the $150,000 mark. First deliveries are expected to begin sometime in the second part of the year.
