Porsche will extend the lifespan of the current-generation Porsche Cayenne – which remains comfortably one of its best-selling cars with a significant round of updates aimed at sustaining its appeal. Development is already underway on an electric successor.
The automaker has started the development of a battery-electric Cayenne, as with the electric Macan, however, the combustion engine model is to be offered in parallel for the time being. Porsche plans for most of its lineup to be electric by the end of the decade. It means the manufacturers model lines will transition to electric power as they are redesigned. The Macan will be the first SUV to go the electric route, plans for Cayenne’s electric transformation are still developing but it is believed to be slated for 2026.
Porsche is currently teasing a facelifted version of the current Cayenne, but the 2026 EV will be an entirely different vehicle and based on an entirely separate architecture. That architecture is the VW Group’s PPE platform for luxury electric cars and it is the same one used by the upcoming Macan EV and its Audi Q6 e-tron cousin.
Details on the expected EV are still developing, and power and performance figures are still in the works but we know the PPE platform features an 800-volt battery pack and charging speeds of up to 270 kilowatts, as well as a modular approach to batteries. The Macan will use a battery with a total capacity of around 100 kWh and will have a drive power of 450 kW. As for the current-gen ICE Cayenne, it will get a substantial facelift instead of a complete refresh and will be sold alongside the upcoming EV version for many years to come.
Expected to launch in 2026, around two years after the delayed Porsche Macan EV and a year before the marque’s new K1 range-topping SUV, the electric Cayenne will provide its maker with a crucial zero-emission alternative to the car that has underpinned its dramatic growth trajectory over the past two decades.