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Porsche is set to break with 94 years of tradition in 2028 when it launches a replacement for the combustion-engined Macan, which will be its first production car with drive biased towards the front wheels.

The new SUV, known as M1 within Porsche circles, is a successor to the ICE Macan, which was pulled from sale in mainland Europe in July 2024 after it failed to meet new cybersecurity rules. Production of the model for other global markets, including the UK, will end next summer.

The M1 will be twinned with the third-generation Audi Q5 and sit on the Premium Platform Combustion (PPC) architecture of the pair’s Volkswagen Group parent.

It will also adopt the similarly sized Q5’s Quattro Ultra drive system. But instead of heavily re-engineering it to offer a rear-biased four-wheel drive system – as Porsche did with the first Macan – it will instead be used largely unmodified for cost reasons.

So, unlike the outgoing ICE Macan’s Porsche Traction Management set-up, which is engineered to send most of its power to the rear wheels, drive in the M1 will primarily be sent to the front axle, with the rear wheels engaging only when sensors detect impending traction loss, marking a radical shift in Porsche’s engineering philosophy.

The SUV will form part of the company’s bid to counter stalling sales and profits. The Q5 tie-up will help the new five-seater to be fast-tracked through development in response to weaker than expected demand for the electric Macan (25,884 global sales in the first half of 2025) and a general softening in the global uptake of electric cars.

Although the M1 is intended to occupy a similar market position to the first-generation Macan, it won’t be offered with an electric option. That space will continue to be filled by the Macan EV, which was launched last year.

The comprehensive rethink of Porsche’s future model line-up has been triggered by current market conditions, well-placed sources within the company have told Autocar.

Originally, Porsche had aimed to make 80% of its global sales electric by 2030. The Macan – which has long been its second-best-selling model, after the Cayenne – was earmarked to spearhead this EV push and Porsche made the second-generation version electric-only.

At the time, Porsche ruled out a combustion Macan successor, citing the prohibitive cost of developing two distinct versions. But amid a 67% year-on-year fall in pre-tax profits in the first half of 2025, a sharp 28% drop in China and rising US tariffs on European car imports, Porsche has elected to replace the combustion Macan with a new model instead.

Porsche CEO Oliver Blume confirmed the programme in July, describing the new SUV as a “very, very typical Porsche for this segment” and stressing that it will be “differentiated from the [electric] Macan”. He also noted that the M1’s short, three-year development was “speeding up the process” of bringing it to market. A new Porsche typically takes five years from concept to road.

To hit that deadline, the new model will lean heavily on the Q5. Sources say Porsche managers have already seen early design concepts, which outline an SUV with petrol power and mild-hybrid assistance, and a four-wheel drive system biased to the front axle. Plug-in hybrid and diesel variants are not planned.

The entry-level Q5 offers clues as to what to expect. It is powered by the group’s 2.0-litre hybrid turbo petrol four, producing 201bhp and 251lb ft, and drives through a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox. Audi claims 0-62mph in 8.6sec and a 140mph top speed.

In time, a broader line-up of performance variants – badged S, GTS and Turbo – are expected to be offered. Higher-powered engines and adaptive chassis tuning are claimed to be under consideration.

A production location for Porsche’s new BMW X3 and Mercedes-Benz GLC rival has not yet been confirmed, although two sites are said to be under review. One is Audi’s San José Chiapa plant in Mexico, where the Q5 is built. The other is Porsche’s plant in Leipzig, Germany, which builds the ICE Macan.

Why Porsche is going for front-biased 4WD

For a company so deeply rooted in the philosophy of rear-wheel drive – hence the rear-axle bias to its four-wheel drive systems to date – Porsche’s decision to build its first production car with a front-drive bias marks a fundamental break with tradition.

Since its founding in 1931, it has engineered its road cars to channel power to the rear axle, either exclusively or primarily, in the pursuit of handling precision.

Even in shared-platform models like the original Macan, Porsche went to great lengths to rework the Audi Q5’s MLB architecture, introducing its own four-wheel drive system and suspension tuning. So why the shift now? 

Partly, it’s a matter of cost, bringing development efficiencies when aligned with Volkswagen Group platforms, such as PPC. In short, it will enable Porsche to develop its new entry-level SUV more quickly at a lower cost.

But market realities are an important factor too. In Porsche’s two largest markets, the US and China, buyers are becoming less concerned with performance and handling and more focused on space and comfort.

Add to that the increasing pressure of ever-tightening emissions regulations and the case for a front-biased 4WD system on its entry-level SUV is more compelling.

Volkswagen will reveal the ID Cross concept at the Munich motor show next week, previewing a supermini-sized electric crossover that will arrive at the end of 2026, priced from around £25k.

The EV has been named to clearly position it as an electric counterpart to the T-Cross, Volkswagen said on Wednesday.

This is mirrored by the production version of the ID 2all hatchback, which will take the ID Polo name.

It's part of a new naming strategy of well-known names adorning EVs in place of the numerical system that has been used since the ID 3 was revealed in 2018.

The concept will be unveiled on 7 September alongside a near-production camouflaged version of the ID Polo and the hot ID Polo GTI.

The ID Polo – set to start from £22k – and the ID Cross form half of Volkswagen Group’s new ‘Electric Urban Car Family’, which also includes the Skoda Epiq and Cupra Raval. 

Volkswagen head of design Andreas Mindt previously described the ID Cross as a "safe, confident, bold" design that is "simple, like the ID 2all [now ID Polo]", referencing how that concept apes the clean, simplistic cues of previous Golf and Polo models. 

Indeed, the resemblance to the supermini is obvious, although the higher-riding SUV will have a more upright silhouette with bulkier wheel arches, a distinctive vent-style motif on the C-pillar (which could be glass on the production car) and a chunky rear spoiler. There will be no obvious visual links between this new SUV and today's ID 4 and ID 5, as Mindt looks to usher in a whole new brand image. 

It will measure around 4.1m long, have a wheelbase of 2600mm and offer more than the ID 2's 490 litres of boot space - no doubt with the same 50-litre lockable box under the boot floor for charging cables and valuables. 

Inside, it's expected to be all but identical to the ID Polo, with a 12.9in infotainment touchscreen and 10.9in digital driver display - while adopting physical switches for the audio and climate controls.

Volkswagen is aiming to eradicate all glue and hard plastics from its next-generation interiors, in line with a pledge to boost material quality while reducing its cars' environmental impacts. 

The roll-out of the Volkswagen Group's new Electric Urban Car Family, as Schäfer calls it, is central to stabilising the manufacturing giant following a turbulent period in which its profits and volumes have dipped significantly, which prompted plans for factory closures and swingeing job cuts across Europe.

Schäfer said that with the launch of the four new electric superminis, "the Brand Group Core is truly bringing its power to the road. We’re on the right track – and now we’re stepping it up a gear."

The £22k production version of the Volkswagen ID 2all concept will be named the ID Polo, as the German brand starts using familiar model names on its electric models.

“Names like Polo or Golf are deeply ingrained,” said Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schäfer. “They stand for quality, accessible technology and heritage. We want to carry those qualities into the electric era.”

Schäfer’s reference to the Golf name also confirms Autocar’s earlier scoop that Volkswagen’s most iconic badge will be used on a future EV – a successor to the similarly sized and positioned ID 3, due later this decade.

Moreover, the ID 4 and ID 7 are expected to adopt the ID Tiguan and ID Passat names and the production version of the ID Every1 – a £17k baby hatchback due in 2027 – will be called the ID Up or ID Lupo.

The ID Polo’s name was announced today, ahead of next week’s Munich motor show, where Volkswagen will showcase the hatch in a camouflaged production guise ahead of its unveiling early next year. 

It will be shown alongside a concept for its crossover sibling, which is confirmed to take the ID Cross name to signify its positioning as an electric counterpart to the T-Cross. The production version will launch at the end of 2026.

These cars are part of the Volkswagen Group’s ‘Electric Urban Car Family’ alongside the Skoda Epiq and Cupra Raval. All four are based on the same MEB Entry platform and will share powertrains.

The ID Polo will be offered with a choice of 38kWh and 56kWh batteries - the latter providing a range of around 280 miles – and the ability to charge at speeds of up to 125kW.

Buyers will have a choice of four power levels from a front-mounted motor. 

This will top out at 223bhp in its most potent form, badged the ID Polo GTI – the first time the GTI badge has adorned an EV. It follows last year’s ID GTI concept.

Volkswagen has also confirmed the ID Polo’s dimensions: it will be 4053mm long, 1816mm wide and 1530mm tall. This makes it only slightly larger than the ICE Polo and nearly identical to the new Renault 4 EV.

Inside, it will use a 12.9in infotainment touchscreen and a 10.9in digital driver display, while adopting physical switches for the audio and climate controls.

Volkswagen is aiming to eradicate all glue and hard plastics from its next-generation interiors, in line with a pledge to boost material quality while reducing its cars' environmental impacts. 

The introduction of the ID Polo and ID Cross names brings to an end the numeric naming Volkswagen has used for its ID models since the launch of the ID 3 in 2020.

Volkswagen admits that the system has failed to achieve the clarity it had hoped for, often leaving customers confused about how the EVs relate to their ICE counterparts.

While sharing names and being sold alongside each other, Volkswagen's EVs and ICE cars will be technically unrelated and have separate styles.

The Volkswagen ID Polo GTI will arrive in 2027 as the German brand’s first proper attempt at an electric hot hatch, packing 223bhp.

Previewed by last year’s ID GTI concept, the sporty EV was confirmed on Wednesday as Volkswagen announced that the production version of the ID 2all concept will be named the ID Polo.

The ID Polo GTI – the first time EV to wear the GTI badge – will be based on the same electric only MEB Entry platform as the ID Polo, which is driven by a single front-mounted motor.

Volkswagen has confirmed this will pack 223bhp, 8bhp more than the ID Polo GTI's Alpine A290 rival.

Autocar has previously reported that Volkswagen is developing a hardcore Clubsport version of the ID Polo, targeting a peak output of 282bhp. 

It's also exploring whether a 400bhp four-wheel-drive R model utilising four in-wheel motors is feasible.

The prospect of an R model puts into doubt the future of the GTX name, which has so far adorned hot four-wheel-drive ID EVs.

A battery option has yet to be confirmed, but the ID Polo GTI will likely use the largest (56kWh) ID Polo pack, which in the regular car will provide a range of around 280 miles.

Like the standard ID Polo, the ID Polo GTI has been shown in near-production camouflaged guise. The pair share mostly the same design, but the GTI does sport some more aggressive cues, including slightly flared wheel arches, a small front diffuser, split boot-mounted spoilers and a pair of rear bumper cutouts (likely to mimic exhausts). It also appears to get larger alloy wheels of a bespoke design.

The regular ID Polo measures 4053mm long, 1816mm wide and 1530mm tall, which would make the ID Polo GTI only slightly larger than the A290.

The standard ID Polo is tipped to be priced at around £22,000, but we expect the hot version to start closer to £30,000. For reference, the A290 starts at £32,000 with the government's new Electric Car Grant added.

Following the ID Polo GTI, Volkswagen is preparing to expand its performance brand across multiple electric model lines. CEO Thomas Schäfer previously told Autocar the new hot EVs will be "mind-blowing" to drive.