The combustion-engined Porsche Macan has been on sale since 2014
New EU cybersecurity regulations cut short the life of the strong-selling combustion-engined SUV
The combustion-engined Porsche Macan will go off sale in Europe in April next year, as it won’t meet requirements for new cybersecurity regulations being introduced.
The popular SUV, on sale since 2014, was developed when the specifics of the regulation hadn’t yet been finalised and now falls foul of what has been signed off for introduction on 1 July 2024.
Automotive News Europe (ANE) reports that it will consequently be taken off sale in the coming months, to be replaced by the new electric Macan, which is technically unrelated and compliant with the new rules.
Porsche originally planned to sell the two Macans in parallel.
The regulation, called UNECE WP.29, stipulates that all new cars in the EU must have a cybersecurity certificate and be fitted with electronics to protect them from hackers.
Each car must prove that it’s protected against 70 vulnerabilities, including cyber attacks during development, production and post-production.
Manufacturers will face a fine of up to €30,000 (£25,732) per vehicle if they don’t comply with the regulation.
Autocar has heard from a prospective Macan buyer who said they were told by a Porsche dealership that the allocation for ICE Macans will stop as of April, three months before the regulation comes into force.
Autocar has approached Porsche for confirmation of this.
The Macan has been a hugely important car for Porsche in Europe, with 20,117 examples sold so far in 2023, according to Jato Dynamics. This compares with 8205 for the Range Rover Velar and 10,076 for the Alfa Romeo Stelvio – two of its closest rivals.
Produced at Porsche’s plant in Leipzig, Germany, the Macan is currently offered in four guises: Macan, Macan T, Macan S, and Macan GTS, with the former two powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine and the latter two a 2.9-litre twin-turbocharged V6.
Production of the Macan for markets outside the European Union is unaffected, according to Porsche. Accordingly, the combustion Macan will continue to be produced at Porsche’s Leipzig plant in Germany until the end of 2025.
ANE also reports that the UNECE WP.29 regulation is the reason why Volkswagen will take the e-Up off sale next year, because it would be too expensive to integrate a new electronic architecture to allow the 12-year-old city car to remain compliant.
At this stage, it remains unclear whether the Audi Q5, which was developed alongside the Porsche Macan and also uses the MLB platform, is affected by the UNECE’s cybersecurity regulation.
Audi says it has established a cybersecurity management system and a software update management system for its models, under the UNECE regulation.
It remains to be seen if any other models will be taken off sale ahead of the new rules coming into force.
