Porsche Cayman, Boxster EVs to share production line with petrol-powered siblings

The electric successors to the Porsche 718 Boxster and Cayman, due to make their debut in 2025, will be built on the same production line as the combustion-engined models. The Stuttgart-based manufacturer has just begun a major GBP 220 million (about Rs 2,270 crore) upgrade to its main Zuffenhausen production plant, with a major focus on the production line where the current boxer-engined 718 models are built.

1. Porsche’s Zuffenhausen plant to feature a ‘flexiline’
2. 718 EVs to debut after Macan EV
3. Porsche EVs to account for 50 percent of total global sales by 2025

The production line will be transformed into what Porsche calls a 'flexiline', using new autonomously guided vehicles that will allow two different generations of vehicles using two different powertrains to be built alongside each other. The confirmation that the next full-electric 718 generation will be made alongside the ongoing petrol versions showcases how the machines are tipped to maintain similar size, styling and philosophy – similar to how Porsche is launching a new Macan that is a wholly different model from its ICE sibling.

The fifth-generation Porsche 718 Cayman and 718 Boxster are set to adopt a bespoke electric sports car platform that is designed to mimic the current combustion cars’ mid-engined characters, and this could go on to underpin future Audi and Lamborghini models. Using a novel battery arrangement referred to as the ‘e-core’ layout, Porsche’s entry-level sports EVs will offer as low a seating position and centre of gravity as possible, in line with their dynamic billing.

It has been confirmed that Porsche intends the next-generation 718 duo to be offered exclusively with electric drivetrains and to be on sale in international markets by the middle of the decade. The electric two-seaters will be the third electric model line in the Porsche line-up, joining the Taycan and the Macan EV. A Cayenne EV is set to follow in 2026.

Porsche's earlier Mission R concept gave clues as to the company's plans for electric sports cars, and indeed, the lighting details seen on some test mules bear a resemblance to that car. The side profile is much closer to the Boxster, which has been on sale in international markets since 2016. The company is aiming for pure EVs to account for 50 percent of its global sales in 2025 and 80 percent in 2030.