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Motoring News

Porsche torches EV plans
This iconic brand has torn up its electric vehicle strategy, turning back to petrol for next-generation models.
John Mahoney

September 23, 2025 – 6:26AMMotoring

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Porsche’s ‘Top Gun’ electric supercar

The Porsche Taycan Turbo GT is the fastest-accelerating car in Australia.

It’s hard not to admire Porsche’s conviction in persevering with the flawed rear-engine 911 but now the German’s unwavering self-belief has been called into question after the announcement of a radical rethink of its EV strategy.
The good news is “top” versions of both its 718 Cayman and Boxster will live on, despite originally being set to be pensioned off before the launch of the all-new state-of-the-art EV.
The bad is that we all now have front row seats to Porsche’s EV strategy unravelling in real time and it isn’t going to be pretty.
MORE: China’s explosive solution to EV problems

Porsche originally planned to put electric motors in the next-generation Boxster and Cayman.
Attempting to steady the ship, chief executive Oliver Blume, told investors that the “strategic realignment” announced last week would see net profit slashed by 2 per cent this year but that growth would return in the “medium-term”, as soon as the brand’s rejigged product line-up begins rolling off the production line.
MORE: Australia’s quickest car tested

Petrol power will live on in premium versions such as the Cayman GT4.
“We have seen a clear drop in demand for exclusive battery-electric cars, and we are taking that into account,” Blume said, before going on to promise the car-maker would return to meaty margins back above 10 per cent but the damage was done.
Porsche’s strategy was flawed, and both the German brand and investors would be paying for the mistake for years.
MORE: Porsche brings electric future to Australia

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Porsche unveils electric race car of the future

This high-performance electric racecar represents the future of motorsport,…

Source: News.com.au

The problems stem from the car-maker’s original belief that by 2030 more than 80 per cent of all the cars it sold would be EVs but those figures have now proven to be hopelessly optimistic and didn’t account for consumers not exactly being thrilled with either giving up their five-minute tank fill, nor the lack of the sound of a flat-six or V8 under the bonnet.
Cementing its peril has been governments globally pulling EV incentives, slowing sales in China and the ongoing tariff uncertainty triggered by the US – that, and the fact Porsche seemingly didn’t have a back-up plan.
MORE: Porsche’s Boxster to be exclusively electric

Scooped: the next-gen, all-electric #Porsche Cayman – testing its ‘mid-engined’ E-Core battery tech in -23C wintry conditions ⚡️🥶📸https://t.co/SVf8iRSuX6pic.twitter.com/wO2u0aAxmA— CAR magazine (@CARmagazine) December 13, 2022
Speaking to investors late last week, Blume announced, in the absence of demand for EVs, the current combustion and hybrid-powered Cayenne and Panamera would both go under the knife to freshen them up to keep them on sale “well into the 2030s”.
Signalling one of the industry’s biggest U-turns yet, Porsche’s boss went on to say he was considering switching the firm’s flagship full-size Range Rover rival from EV to petrol power, effectively writing off a dizzying €1.8 billion ($A3.2b) in investments.

The Porsche Taycan Turbo GT is Australia’s fastest EV. Picture: Thomas Wielecki
Next, Blume relegated the next battery-powered Taycan and Panamera EV, to vapourware status, by postponing both well until the 2030s.
Unsurprisingly, there was no mention of the pioneering Mission X hypercar, that was supposed to lead the world for EV tech.
Blume now knows only too well from new stablemate Rimac that battery-powered hypercars are about as appealing as paying your income tax to the super rich who buy them.

Porsche brought its Mission X concept to the Australian Grand Prix in 2024.
With that in mind, when it reappears expect the Mission X to have a far less sophisticated but more showroom-friendly plug-in V8 hybrid stuffed under its rear boot lid.
One car that is on the way, in record time to boot, is a replacement for the petrol-fed Macan that was mistakenly culled to make room for the electric version.
Excitedly announcing the new hybrid version would be developed in just three years, instead of the usual five, the new mid-sizer is said to be heavily related to the latest Audi Q3, which means it will be the first Porsche ever to feature a front-wheel drive biased all-wheel drive system, much to the chagrin of Porsche purists who probably wouldn’t have bought it anyway.

Porsche’s electric Macan is set to have a petrol sibling. Photo: Supplied
There was no explanation on how exactly the old petrol-fed version of the Boxster and Cayman will live on but expect a hasty reskin of the current car to align it with the new advanced EV that’s due next year.
It’s thought the “top” version is reference to Porsche’s latest 4.0-litre flat-six engine that was only launched in 2020 and currently powers the GT4 version.
If so, Porsche’s current disastrous state of affairs could prove a stroke of luck to performance car fans because even after almost a decade on sale the current 718 Boxster roadster and Cayman coupe remain the most engaging and enjoyable sports cars on sale today, something that a switch to EV power was unlikely ever to improve on.

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