Porsche has big plans: what to launch

Porsche confirms that its first two-seater electric vehicle will be a 718, not a 911.

The Volkswagen Group’s luxury unit will also offer a hybrid version of the iconic 911.

Porsche, which is part of the VW Group, is preparing an initial public offering for the brand and expects electric models to be as profitable as combustion engines in about two to three years, according to CFO Lutz Meschke.

“We have already reached double-digit profitability for Taycan now and we are working hard to achieve the same profitability we already have for our combustion engine cars,” said Meschke. “I am convinced that we will achieve this in a period of two or three years.”

Porsche expects half of its sales to be electric or hybrid by 2025, including a fully electric version of the Macan SUV.

Porsche has alluded to a 718 Boxster / Cayman electric vehicle since unveiling Mission R at the Munich Motor Show last year, but this was the first time directors have confirmed speculation about the third electric model after Taycan and the upcoming crossover electric Macan.

CEO Oliver Blume said that drivers can expect a hybrid version of the Porsche 911, but did not specify other details about the future 911 model.

Porsche continues to grow and innovate

Blume said Porsche is also considering joining Formula 1, although no final decision has been made.

The carmaker is also in talks with Apple to expand its cooperation beyond the CarPlay feature of the US technology giant.

Blume said there are “several” additional projects underway with Apple, which has been working on a standalone car project for years.

The VW Group and its controlling shareholder, the family of billionaire Porsche-Piech, continue to list Porsche, even though global markets are facing major turmoil due to the war in Ukraine.

The plan, the biggest structural change for Europe’s largest carmaker in recent years, is scheduled to continue in the fourth quarter of this year, in an effort to improve the spending power of new technologies.

An IPO “could sharpen Porsche’s profile and boost its entrepreneurial choices,” Meschke said in a statement. “At the same time, Volkswagen and Porsche will be able to benefit from common synergies.”

Volkswagen is due to provide more details on its plan at the end of the summer. “I hope that by then the war in Ukraine will be over,” he said. “Because peace is more important than any IPO.”