The launch of the new Porsche Macan electric SUV has been delayed for a year because of slower than expected software development within the wider Volkswagen Group.
The Macan EV will be one of the first production cars to use Porsche and Audi’s Premium Platform Electric (PPE) architecture, but Porsche has now confirmed that it won’t be released until 2024.
Problems surrounding the production of the E3 1.2 software platform by Cariad, the software division of the Volkswagen Group, are partly to blame for that delay.
Porsche confirmed the news in the shares prospectus it issued as part of its IPO last month – when it made 911 million shares available (a nod to its flagship sports car).
The flotation valued Porsche at roughly €75 billion (about £65bn).
The delay could also knock back the launch timetable of “in particular BEV models of the 718 [Porsche Boxster and Porsche Cayman] and the Porsche Cayenne”, Porsche warned in the prospectus. No launch timetable has been given for those cars, though.
Also in the prospectus, Porsche warned that Cariad’s parallel development of a separate E3 2.0 software stack meant that it “could potentially allocate greater development capacity and resources to its E3 2.0 version to the detriment of further development of the E3 1.2 platform”.
Porsche has an option to not take the E3 2.0 software stack and go its own way for future vehicles, it noted in the prospectus, and a decision on this is to be made next year.
Porsche has been vocal in the past about not being tied to the Volkswagen Group’s future platform strategy – both physical and digital – particularly with the Scalable Systems Platform (SSP) for EVs, which will ultimately replace the PPE.
Porsche has said it will lead development of a performance version platform called SSP Sport, which will underpin the next Panamera and Taycan, as well as an unnamed “new fully electric luxury SUV model”.
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Agree with manicm and others that this is pretty shambolic from VW group. My Porsche Brand Ambassador had assured me some months ago that my EV Macan would not be available until 4th quarter 2023, posibly 1st quarter 2024 (USA delivery), so although this is undoubtedly a setback its likely only 6-9 months later. I think the potential delay to the replacement for the 718 Boxster/Cayman is more disappointing, albeit not as costly for Porsche.
I love the JPS livery, but the decals are too much (unless you happen to be called Emerson Fittipaldi, in which case it's ideal).
How VW got this so wrong is almost criminal. But Porsche will need till 2024 to develop their own software - it's clear they will ditch VW's crapware.
Good luck Stuttgart, you're going to need it.