Have you noticed how automakers state they're not working on a certain model, but come back a few months later to confirm the car in question will eventually find its way into dealerships? That's exactly what Porsche->ke1 did with the Macan->ke4210 Hybrid. It was October 2014 when a Porsche spokesperson denied that Stuttgart was planning to launch the Macan with a plug-in hybrid drivetrain.->ke147 Less than six months later, Porsche president and CEO Matthias Müller confirmed a hybrid Macan is well underway.

"We're working on it. We'll have it in one or two years," he said. The timetable is obviously pretty flexible here, but I think it's safe to assume the most efficient Macan yet will break cover sometime in 2016 and go on sale for the 2017 model year.

Although Müller had nothing to say as to what drivetrain will motivate the Macan Hybrid, I'd be surprised if the crossover didn't arrive with the same setup as the Cayenne S E-Hybrid, which employs a supercharged, 3.0-liter, six-cylinder engine and an electric motor that gets its juice from a 10.8 kWh lithium-ion battery. Total output is 416 horsepower and 435 pound-feet of torque (a 36-horsepower and 7-pound-feet improvement over the outgoing model), but expect the Macan Hybrid to have less than that. Since the Cayenne S E-Hybrid is only a few horses less powerful than the gasoline-powered S model, I expect the Macan Hybrid to develop just under the Macan S' 340 horsepower.

Continue reading to learn more about Porsche's plans to build a Macan Hybrid.

Why it matters

Having already launched three hybrid vehicles so far, the 918 Spyder, Cayenne S E-Hybrid, and the Panamera S E-Hybrid, it's only a matter of time until Porsche expands the gasoline-electric combo to other models as well. Being a family hauler, the Macan seemed the obvious choice here, but just like the super-fast 918 Spyder gets its juice from a hybrid drivetrain, a similar approach is to be expected in the case of the 911 too. In a few years, probably every single Porsche model will have a hybrid version.

Porsche Macan

Launched for the 2015 model year as Porsche's second crossover, the Macan is currently offered with four- and six-cylinder gas engines and a six-cylinder diesel engine. In the U.S., however, the Macan is only available with six-bangers, as the 340-horsepower S and the 400-horsepower Turbo.

Find out more about it in our full review here.