Porsche switches cell suppliers for the Macan Electric to Samsung SDI

A report by the South Korean newspaper The Chosun Daily reveals that Porsche is making this change. The Taycan, which has been on sale for several years, and the new Cayenne Electric already use battery cells from LG Energy Solution. The switch currently affects only the Macan Electric. Porsche manufactures the battery-electric mid-size SUV at its Leipzig plant—until now, it had relied exclusively on battery cells from CATL’s German facility in Arnstadt, Thuringia.According to the Chosun report, the decision was influenced by “market conditions and environmental factors in the sales region.” The newspaper notes that “South Korean consumers are known for scrutinising the battery manufacturer when purchasing an electric vehicle.” The connection to cell manufacturers is significant not only due to domestic producers like LGES, SK On, and Samsung SDI but also for political reasons. After a fire involving a Mercedes EQE in the underground car park of a residential building in Incheon in 2024, the South Korean government demanded that car manufacturers disclose their battery suppliers. Many manufacturers complied at the time, and the practice remains standard today.Porsche has not commented in the Chosun article. We have requested a statement from the manufacturer in Zuffenhausen regarding the report and will provide an update as soon as a response is available. However, based on the information in the South Korean report, it remains unclear how the supply chain for the Samsung SDI cells is structured or what technical specifications the Macan Electric will achieve with these battery cells.As reported in our Tech Deep-Dive on the Macan, Porsche has so far used a 100 kWh battery pack (95 kWh net) with prismatic cells from CATL across all drive variants. This pack employs NMC811 cell chemistry. With the 250 kW rear-wheel-drive model, the WLTP range reaches up to 641 kilometres, while the 430 kW Macan Turbo achieves 591 kilometres. Thanks to the 800-volt system, the CATL battery can be charged from 10 to 80 percent in 21 minutes at up to 270 kW.With its latest electric model, the Cayenne E4, Porsche has revamped its battery strategy. The battery is now not only a core component of development but also sees Porsche taking on more production tasks itself. For the Taycan and Macan, the supplier Dräxlmaier assembles the ready-to-install battery packs from purchased cells and delivers them to the vehicle plants. For the Cayenne Electric, produced at VW’s Bratislava plant, Porsche has established the Porsche Smart Battery Shop in Horná Streda, Slovakia, where it now manufactures the battery modules with LGES cells in-house.chosun.com