PORSCHE

Porsche 718 Cayman and Boxster have sales terminated in Europe due to cybersecurity flaws

Porsche announced, through a statement from the person responsible for the 718 range, Oliver Hilger, that it will cease sales of the 718 Cayman and 718 Boxster in Europe. And the responsibility for this measure falls on the shoulders of the new European cybersecurity law, which all new vehicles sold on the Old Continent will have to comply with from July 2024. This announcement follows a similar one, in which the German manufacturer made it known which would remove the Macan with combustion engines from the market, as it too does not comply with the new safety requirements.

The aforementioned cybersecurity standard aims to protect vehicles from hacker attacks and imposes a countless number of defenses against intrusion into different car systems. This new measure, ECE R 155, is mainly software, but the platforms of certain vehicles make it possible, but costly, to adapt them to new needs. This is why Porsche prefers to end sales of its models in Europe, one of its main markets, rather than having to invest heavily in updating the system on a platform that was not designed for that purpose.

The German manufacturer recalls that European legislation on cybersecurity, which will become mandatory from July 1st this year, includes not only vehicles with combustion engines, but also hybrids, PHEV and 100% electric vehicles, effectively ruling out all that are unable to effectively protect their users. Oliver Hilger just doesn't explain the reasons why the brand stopped sales more than three months before the new obligation came into force.

It should be remembered that the Porsche models that are discontinued are the oldest from this manufacturer, with the Macan being based on a platform introduced in 2014 and the 718 Boxster and Cayman using a base introduced on the market two years later, in 2016. And If the two-seater coupé was not excessively important in terms of sales, the same does not happen with the Macan SUV, which is the brand's best-selling model, having sold practically 90 thousand units in 2023, around four times more than the two 718s together.

Porsche recently presented the new 100% electric Macan, and although this battery-powered model has a much higher sales potential than the Taycan — especially since it is cheaper —, it will be very difficult to compensate for the losses of units that have hitherto were sold with combustion engines. The situation is similar with the 718 coupés, as Porsche will also replace the model with the next generation to be launched in 2025, also exclusively electric.

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