Porsche Australia’s CEO has pointed to its flourishing used car business as its new on-ramp for customers, amid an “expected” significant sales decline of the Macan and the indefinite hiatus of the 718 Cayman and Boxster models.
Reflecting similar patterns overseas, sales were down 27 percent in 2025 compared with 2024, with Macan seeing an 84.3 percent drop as Porsche faces backlash from the electric-only model range strategy – which also saw the price of entry jump by $33,300.
Similar results have been recorded for the first two months of 2026, not helped by dwindling ICE-powered 718 Cayman and Boxster stock. Reports suggest its all-electric successor has been delayed to reintroduce combustion power, at least as an option.
Daniel Schmollinger, managing director and chief executive of Porsche Cars Australia, told Chasing Cars the sales decline of the Macan was expected, and more a reflection of attitudes towards EVs generally rather than the model itself.
“At the moment, this is the reality, it’s not a surprise for us, as it didn’t come unexpectedly,” he said, adding, “it did not come as a surprise because we obviously know how the segment is working; the volume is the volume.”
Schmollinger said the transition towards full electrification was happening more slowly than expected, particularly in Australia in comparison to some other countries, but he was confident in the merits of the electric Macan.
“Whoever drives the Macan electric gets out of the car and says, ‘It’s a typical Porsche, I saw driving dynamics like no other car, it is like no other product. It’s just… I don’t want to go electric just yet’,” he said.
Used cars to carry introductory role
The petrol-powered Macan and 718 have historically served key roles in introducing buyers to the brand, but Schmollinger said he did not feel their absence thanks to the Porsche Approved pre-owned vehicle program.
“We don’t feel that because we still have Porsche Approved, we still have a very good used car program in place where there’s a lot of peace of mind because it’s a Porsche-approved program,” he said,
“We see a lot of customers who are not ready yet for the next price range go into a pre-owned car, which was always a further entry point into the brand.”
Strategy shift begins with Cayenne
A key shift in Porsche’s introduction of the Cayenne Electric, due to land locally in the third quarter of this year, is that it will complement – not replace – the existing petrol and hybrid models.
“With the Cayenne we have the ability to offer three [drivetrain types], this is exactly what we want because for us it is important that the customer can choose,” he said.
With the 718 walking away from all-electric exclusivity and Porsche’s global CEO Oliver Blume recently confirming the return of both a combustion and hybrid compact SUV to complement the current Macan EV range, a shift in strategy appears to be underway.
That’s not to say Porsche is abandoning electrification, with the inbound 911 Turbo S the latest to adopt electrification in the form of a mild-hybrid system.
Porsche’s yet-to-be-revealed full-size SUV, codenamed ‘K1’ will reportedly be available with both pure petrol and plug-in hybrid drivetrain at launch – with the fully electric version set to follow towards the end of the decade, according to UK outlet Autocar.
While the K1 has not yet been confirmed for Australia, Schmollinger said he thought it was “an opportunity for us”, if the model were to be made available.
