Reports have emerged that Porsche leadership is considering abandoning the planned all-electric version of the 718 due to budget issues and dwindling EV sales. While the company has enjoyed great success over the last fifteen years, 2025 threw up some red flags that need to be accounted for.
Global volumes dropped by about 10 percent and was primarily attributed to declining sales in China. But the elephant in the room is the sharp spike in Porsche’s operating costs, which have been partially driven by increased investments into electrification as interest in those vehicles seems to have plateaued.
Production of the previous 718 Boxster and Cayman was previously spun down because they failed to satisfy European regulations requiring specific advanced driving aids and “cyber security” hardware be equipped to all mainstream vehicles. Interestingly, these mandates didn’t apply to the ultra-expensive variants of the car because their production numbers were so limited.
In Porsche’s mind, redesigning the 718 just to satisfy regulations didn’t make sense when the plan was for the next generation to become entirely electric in a couple of years. So the company retired the old model ahead of schedule.
However, EVs simply haven’t resonated with enthusiasts and the general take rate of all-electric models has been far less than the industry initially assumed. According to Bloomberg, Porsche is reportedly considering abandoning the battery powered 718 as a concept. CEO Michael Leiters, who recently replaced Oliver Blume, is allegedly torn over the issue as delays and expenses have mounted.
Pinning down exactly when the car was supposed to debut has been difficult. Porsche initially signaled that it might be sold alongside the combustion 718 by the end of 2025. But the old model was axed while the EV’s debut ended up being delayed.
Over the last several months, rumored development talk went from focusing entirely on battery power to something that could accommodate multiple powertrains. That could include an internal-combustion and/or hybrid model to help drive actual sales volume while the battery powered 718 helped Porsche adhere to European emission requirements. However, changing course in the midst of development is very costly in terms of time and finances.
Officially, Porsche has not confirmed whether or not the all-electric 718 has been scrapped. Bloomberg’s unnamed sources were just cited as being from within the company.
From our vantage, no outcome seems like it would be ideal for the company at this juncture. Fielding an EV that Porsche knows won’t sell just to satisfy emissions isn’t a winning proposal. But redesigning a ground-up electrified platform to accommodate a combustion engine also seems like a terrible decision.
Even scrapping the previous design to start over with something that was flexible enough to be sold as a pure electric or traditional combustion car comes with serious drawbacks. Original development investments are effectively wasted. But Porsche also runs the risk of spoiling the vehicle’s dynamics by trying to accommodate multiple forms of propulsion — which isn’t ideal for a dedicated sports car that’s famous for its balance.
The 718 Boxster and Cayman were always supposed to be Porsche’s nimble, lightweight sport offerings at the entry level. While transforming it into an EV would have certainly spoiled the lightweight aspect, electric 718s would have undoubtedly retained a low center of gravity. However, it’s not clear how Porsche plans on managing that while also making a combustion version of the vehicle that uses the same platform.
Concerns revolve around how good the car will be in either format when the design has to accommodate both. At the same time, this all raises development costs and that will assuredly impact MSRP. It’s hard to imagine how the automaker plans on retaining the intuitive nature and balance of the 718 while also keeping it priced in the sweet spot.
Past rumors had already suggested the car was seeing delays to address said balance when we were being told unequivocally that the 718 would be an EV. However, it seems plausible that Porsche may now be holding the car back for other reasons. Sadly, it sounds as though all of the above might mean Porsche could abandon the project entirely.
At present, delays now have a tentative debut date of the 718 EV scheduled for later this year with production assumed to commence by the start of 2027.
[Images: Porsche]
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