This was fully expected, but the news still stings: Porsche is officially ending production of the gasoline-powered Boxster and Cayman. The two entry-level sports cars, which make up the 718 series, will disappear off the assembly line in October 2025.
This decision comes after their withdrawal from the European market in 2023, compelled by new cybersecurity regulations that Porsche could not apply to the models. The rest of the world now gets official notice they’ll be gone to them this year.
An announced end
The fourth generation of the 718 (982 series), in production since 2016, will thus soon be a thing of the past. 2024 was the last full year of production, with sales up 15 percent, totaling 23,670 units.
However, in the first quarter of 2025, deliveries dropped by 22 percent, an expected decline given the announced end in several markets.
Limited editions like the Boxster RS Spyder and Cayman GT4 RS, which are exempt from European regulations, will continue for a while longer.
No electric replacement for a few years
Unlike Porsche's usual practice, it won’t immediately launch an all-electric successor to the 718 duo. At the company’s annual general meeting, CEO Oliver Blume confirmed that the upcoming electric Boxster and Cayman are still under development and will arrive in the medium term. He promises an “even more dynamic and powerful” experience, but without an engine roar.
Porsche changes its electrified course
Despite ambitious initial goals — 80-percent electric sales by 2030 — Porsche this week acknowledge that those goals are no longer realistic. However, the elimination of the gas-engine 718s has no bearing on the manufacturer's new, more hybrid-focused strategy. The gas-engine Cayenne will coexist with its electric version into the 2030s. The Panamera will also retain its gasoline engines, including a revised version of the 4.0L twin-turbo V8 that is compliant with Euro 7 standards.
As for the ICE Macan, it will be retired in 2026, leaving only the second 100-percent electric generation... unless a new combustion engine SUV appears by the end of the decade.
And that's not all: Porsche is even considering adding internal combustion engines to models initially designed to be all-electric. That possibility was evoked last November by former CFO Lutz Meschke.
Electrification continues
Despite EV sales falling short of expectations, Porsche is continuing to develop its electric lineup, including a three-row SUV still under development. For combustion engine enthusiasts, there remains hope that some models will continue to roar... even in an electrified future.