- After 12 years, the original Porsche Macan is no more.
- The gasoline-fueled Macan is expected to be followed by an EV version in the first half of 2026.
- A new combustion-engine crossover is coming later this decade, but under a different name.
Take a look out for the first-generation Macan as Porsche is just weeks away from pulling the plug on its iconic compact crossover. In production since the beginning of 2014, the “sports car among SUVs” will be discontinued at the end of the month, when the last example rolls off the assembly line in Leipzig. The original Macan has been discontinued in Europe for a few years already due to failing to comply with the cyber security requirements of the General Safety Regulation (GSR2). Now, it’s about to end everywhere.
At the beginning of the year, Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blume and former Porsche boss admitted that Zuffenhausen made the wrong move by deciding to kill the cash cow. At the time, the company assumed that buyers would naturally switch to the second-generation, electric-only model. However, it did not go as Porsche expected:
‘We were wrong about the Macan. Based on the data available at that time and our assessment of the markets, we will take the same decision again. Today the situation is different. We have responded and are adding combustion engines and hybrids.
While EVs outsold ICE models last year by 45,367 to 38,961, the numbers look different in the first half of 2026. Of the 35,315 Macans delivered through June, 19,695 had a gas engine while only 15,620 were fully electric. Had the first generation model remained on sale in Europe, it is reasonable to assume that the gap would have been even larger.
Looking back, perhaps the conventionally powered model would not have lost the battle in 2025 if it were still available in the EU, although it’s impossible to know for sure. Ahead of the imminent retirement of the ICE Macan, Porsche is stockpiling vehicles to meet strong demand in the United States. It is estimated that the inventory will last until 2027.
Since a direct replacement was not originally on the agenda, Porsche will not have an immediate successor to the ICE-powered Macan. While a new gas and hybrid compact crossover is in the works, it’s not coming any time soon. Last year, then-CEO Oliver Bloom said it would go on sale in three years, so it should arrive in 2028. When that happens, it will have a different name as the company is reserving the Macan badge for the EV.
Like the soon-to-be-retired Macan, the newcomer will be mechanically related to the Audi Q5. A few months ago, CEO Michael Leiters said that despite the relationship with Audi, it would be more than a simple case of rebadging and rebodying the Q5:
‘We have to make sure it’s a real Porsche. And it requires some material, some product material, some technology, which is new on this car – will be new on these cars and hence, a certain time is required for the industrialization and for the launch of this product.’
10
Motor1’s Opinion: The Macan is the second combustion-engine model that Porsche has discontinued in recent times. The company discontinued the 718 Boxster/Cayman last October, and like the crossover, no replacement is immediately available. Gas-powered two-door sports cars are expected to return later this decade. Meanwhile, there are two notable shortcomings in the company’s lineup.
From a volume perspective, we can all agree that the ICE Macan’s replacement is far more significant than the 718, and it can’t come soon enough. Porsche says it will share fresh details about its future lineup this fall when it outlines its Strategy 2035 at its capital markets day.
