May 23, 2005
One of the world's most successful performance automaker has announced plans to build a hybrid SUV. Porsche says the company plans to eventually build a hybrid version of its Cayenne sport-utility vehicle.
The Stuttgart-based carmaker is looking for a potential partner to develop a more fuel-efficient model of the Cayenne. Sales of the SUV in the U.S. have slumped in part because of rising pump prices.
Hybrid cars, which trap and store brake energy to power an electric motor built alongside a conventional combustion engine, have enjoyed surprising success in the United States thanks to a painful rise in oil prices.
North American sales of the Cayenne dropped 27 percent to 4,424 units in the first four months of the year, a decline that Porsche has blamed on a strong base comparison and production bottlenecks.
Porsche is reportedly talking with Volkswagen, DaimlerChrysler and Toyota about a future hybrid SUV. Porsche aims to introduce a hybrid Cayenne at the latest when the next generation of its SUV is launched in 2008/2009.
DaimlerChrysler, which in December agreed to develop hybrids along with General Motors, has said it is open to letting other carmakers join the project.
