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Porsche plans to turn its best-selling vehicle in the US, the Macan SUV, into an electric vehicle following the introduction of its first EVs, the Taycan and its cross-cousin, Cross Tourismo.
Production of the new generation of all-electric Porsche Macan will begin early next decade, the company said Tuesday. It will be produced in Leipzig, Germany, in the same plant as the current gas Macan.
The Taycan, the company's first 100% electric vehicle, will be launched at the end of 2019. The Taycan Cross Turismo will follow shortly thereafter.
Porsche said it has decided to turn the next-generation Macan into an electric vehicle because it creates "the opportunity to produce fully electric vehicles on the existing production line."
It's also a bet on American pilots. The compact Macan crossover is Porsche's best-selling vehicle in the United States. More than 23,500 Macan SUVs were delivered in 2018, up 9.7% from the previous year.
The compact Macan SUV will also feature an 800-volt architecture, just like the Taycan. This will allow the vehicle to withstand a load of 350 kW, which corresponds to a range of about 60 kilometers, in just four minutes with some fast chargers.
The model will be based on the PPE (Premium Platform Electric) architecture developed in collaboration with Audi AG, according to Porsche.
"Electromobility and Porsche go perfectly together. Not only because they share a highly effective approach, but mostly because of their sporting nature, "said the chairman of the board of directors of Porsche AG, Oliver Blume, in a statement.
Blume added that the company was planning to invest more than 6 billion euros in "electric mobility" by 2022. By 2025, 50% of all new Porsche vehicles could be equipped with an electric propulsion system, said Mr. Blume.
Porsche is not totally back in front of gasoline vehicles. At least in the short term.
Over the next decade, the company "will focus on a powertrain mix consisting of still-optimized gasoline engines, plug-in hybrid models and sports cars running solely on electricity," said Blume. "Our goal is to be a pioneer in the field of technology. That's why we will continue to consistently align the company with the mobility of the future. "
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