Porsche Cayenne EV Manufacturing Begins As New Automobile Gross sales Tumble In Norway

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Manufacturing of the Porsche Cayenne Electrical, which relies on the PPE battery-electric platform, has begun on the manufacturing facility in Bratislavia just some months after its world premiere. For a number of years, that manufacturing facility has produced the gasoline-powered and hybrid variations of the Cayenne together with related fashions from Audi and Volkswagen. In accordance with Porsche, such a versatile manufacturing line allows the corporate to “reply rapidly to modifications in demand.”

One limiting issue on flexibility considerations the battery meeting. For the Taycan and Macan Electrical, Porsche relied on provider Dräxlmaier to assemble the battery packs and ship them to the manufacturing facility. With the electrical Cayenne, the automaker has introduced battery meeting in-house. In collaboration with Porsche device making, Porsche has established the Porsche Sensible Battery Store in Horná Streda.

“The shut integration with Porsche device making was a key success issue. Competencies from prototype manufacturing could possibly be seamlessly transferred to collection manufacturing,” Porsche stated in a press assertion. “In a exactly managed course of consisting of cell preparation, stacking, laser welding, foaming, chilly plate integration and end-of-line testing, the modules are created beneath full high quality management.”

In accordance with Germany’s Vehicle Week150 workers in Horná Streda assemble 132 modules per hour in two shifts utilizing pouch cells provided by LG Vitality Resolution. Every car requires six of those modules for its 113 kWh battery (108 kWh web) — sufficient to construct  352 Cayenne Electrical autos a day. From Horná Streda, the modules are despatched to provider Webasto, which integrates the modules and energy electronics into the battery body earlier than delivering them to the meeting plant.

Not like the Macan Electricalthe primary Porsche to make use of the PPE platform, which nonetheless makes use of standard battery modules and a standard battery pack with prismatic cells, the Cayenne’s battery is designed as a structural element. With 108 kWh of usable vitality, it eneables a variety of over 600 kilometers (WLTP) and helps 800 volt quick charging. In accordance with Electrivethe Porsche is ready to cost from 10 to 80% in 16 minutes — 5 minutes sooner than the BWW iX3 50 xDrive. A singular cooling idea which options two cooling plates permits the battery to remain throughout the optimum temperature vary throughout charging periods.

Not solely the battery provide chain, but in addition the car plant within the manufacturing facility has been extensively tailored for the Cayenne Electrical. In a brand new “platform corridor,” the skateboard-like chassis is assembled and subsequently fitted with aspect panels, roof, doorways, bonnet, and tailgate, based on Porsche. These parts are produced at a neighborhood stamping plant.

“With the Cayenne Electrical, we’re persistently transferring Porsche’s DNA into the longer term with in-house developed battery modules, most manufacturing high quality, and a manufacturing line that seamlessly integrates combustion, hybrid, and electrical autos,” stated Albrecht Reimold, board member in command of manufacturing and logistics at Porsche. “This provides us the flexibleness we have to reliably meet the best high quality requirements, cutting-edge expertise, and particular person buyer necessities in each market worldwide.”

When the Porsche Cayenne was first launched, purists have been horrified that the corporate had been lowered to promoting “vans.” However the Cayenne and its barely smaller sibling, the Macan, have been big successes for the corporate. Now the query is whether or not the electrical variations will be capable of carry the corporate into the longer term because the headwinds for electrical automobiles appear to be gathering power.

The excellent news is that orders for the brand new BMW iX3 are stronger than anticipated, forcing BMW to extend its manufacturing plans virtually instantly after the meeting line began. Stories of the dying of the electrical automotive could also be untimely — hopefully.

Electrical Porsche 718 Fashions Delayed

The Macan Electrical and Cayenne Electrical are each now in manufacturing, however the way forward for the battery-powered Boxster and Cayman — designated 718 fashions by the corporate — is cloudy, resulting from improvement delays and rising value. In accordance with Bloombergthe Porsche board is contemplating the abandonment of each EV fashions. A part of the issue in bringing them to market is becoming battery packs to the sports activities automobiles, which have a comparatively brief wheelbase, whereas retaining the efficiency traits.

Battery cells with excessive vitality density provided by Northvolt have been essential to the design of each automobiles, however now that Northvolt has gone bankrupt, there is no such thing as a different provider at a value that’s acceptable to Porsche. No remaining resolution has been reached on the battery-electric 718 fashions, however the prospect of those automobiles ever beginning manufacturing is wanting much less and fewer doubtless.

Norway New Automobile Gross sales Plummet

Cautious CleanTechnica readers — which may be redundant — will discover the above picture reveals a PPE platform on the meeting line, however the chassis simply behind it clearly has all of the exterior pulleys related to an inner combustion engine. Constructing automobiles for a residing will not be for the faint of coronary heart. Witness the gross sales debacle that unfolded in Norway in January. Oh, positive, automobiles with plugs nonetheless dominated new automotive gross sales there, however general, the variety of new automobiles bought tumbled by 77 p.c.

Solely 2,218 new passenger automotive have been bought in Norway in January — a 76.7% decline in comparison with the identical month final 12 months. In December, 35,000 new automobiles have been registered. Usually someplace between 10,000 and 15,000 new automobiles are bought in Norway every month. The market sometimes ranges between 10,000 and 15,000 autos.

The distinction is that new VAT rules got here into power on January 1, 2026. Consequently, many sellers and clients rushed to register autos in December earlier than the brand new tax charges took impact, resulting in a surge prematurely purchases. One thing related occurred within the US in September because the EV incentives supplied by the Inflation Discount Act expired. Authorities insurance policies giveth and authorities insurance policies taketh away.

“Tax modifications simply earlier than the flip of the 12 months create synthetic gross sales peaks and sharp declines, leading to an pointless stop-and-go market. Due to this fact, the January figures should not an indication that demand has stalled, however relatively a results of the extraordinary remaining spurt earlier than the New Yr,” the Norwegian authorities stated in an announcement thus week. “We anticipate registrations to choose up once more because the market stabilizes,” OFV Director Geir Inge Stokke added.

Battery-electric autos, which dominate the Norwegian market, accounted for two,084 new registrations in January, representing a 94% share. In January 2025, this determine stood at 95.8%. Thus, even with the closely distorted market, battery-electric autos stay far forward of another powertrain, based on Electrive.

In second place for January have been diesel automobiles, with 98 new registrations and a 4.4% market share. Gasoline-powered autos and  hybrids every accounted for lower than one p.c of the market. Solely 7 gross sales of gasoline powered automobiles have been recorded in January — the bottom quantity ever reported for the reason that nation began conserving monitor of such issues.

The Volkswagen ID.3 was the bestselling electrical automotive in Norway in January with 299 bought. The Toyota bZ4X was second in gross sales with 184 registrations, whereas the Skoda Elroq (78), Changan Deepal S05 (75), VW ID.4 (69), and Tesla Mannequin Y (62) stuffed out the remaining high gross sales slots. Tesla needs to be greater than just a little involved that the venerable Mannequin Y was outsold by the Changan Deepal!