Porsche Slams the Brakes on Full Electrification, Flagship SUV to Launch with Combustion Power
While much of the industry still charges headlong into electrification, Porsche is easing off the throttle. Its upcoming flagship SUV, once billed as an all-electric statement of intent, will instead debut with combustion engines and plug-in hybrids.
Porsche has just wrapped up a sweeping strategic review, and the results are unequivocal. Internal combustion engines will continue to hold a firm place in the lineup, even as several previously announced EV projects are pushed further down the timeline. The biggest reversal concerns the brand’s forthcoming range-topping SUV, codenamed K1, which had been conceived as a purely electric showcase.
Management has now decided the model will launch with petrol-powered and plug-in hybrid variants, while the fully electric version has been postponed indefinitely. The reasoning is clear: demand for luxury EVs has cooled noticeably, particularly in the United States and China, the two markets that would have defined the K1’s success.
Originally the K1 was to ride on Porsche’s all-new SSP Sport platform, developed in parallel with the next-generation Taycan. It was to represent the brand’s most ambitious, technically advanced, and expensive vehicle yet. But reality has intruded, and the company is aligning its plans with market dynamics rather than technological bravado.
In the longer term, Porsche is also slowing the rollout of its next-generation EV platforms designed for the 2030s. In the meantime, it promises to keep investing in current electric models such as the Taycan and Macan Electric, while continuing development of the Cayenne Electric and a new dual-motor sports EV destined to succeed the 718.
Equally significant, both Panamera and Cayenne will remain available with combustion engines well into the next decade, not as transitional holdovers but as full-fledged new generations.
CEO Oliver Blume underscored that this recalibration is essential to preserve Porsche’s business resilience and adaptability. The financial implications, however, are unavoidable. For 2025 the company warns of a profit squeeze, exacerbated by new U.S. tariffs and weakening demand in China. Revenue forecasts remain steady at €37–38 billion, but operating margins have been cut from the expected 5–7 percent down to just 2 percent.
