Porsche ends production of diesel models in favor of EVs
It's been 16 years since Porsche introduced a diesel-powered version of its Cayenne SUV, following that with diesel versions of the Panamera and Macan. And now in 2018, that saga is coming to an end as Porsche terminates production of all its diesel vehicles for the foreseeable future.
Autocar quotes a Porsche spokesman saying it's all about a "cultural shift", as the recently much-maligned turbodiesel variants are shelved globally. There was no new Cayenne with a diesel option, when the third generation vehicle was launched last autumn, and now the Macan S Diesel has been pulled off the market along with the Panamera 4S Diesel; the Macan S Diesel will not be re-engineered to meet future standards. We have reached out to Porsche U.S. for a statement on the matter.
For Porsche, the debacle's origins lie with 3.0-liter Volkswagen Group diesel engines fitted in Porsche's bigger models. Several Cayenne Diesels sold in the States were locked up at the docks before they could be modified to comply with emissions standards.
Porsche has been the first German carmaker to speak of discontinuing its diesel models completely. In July, Porsche's CEO Oliver Blume told Reuters that the manufacturer could abandon diesels in favor of gasoline hybrids and full electric vehicles. Porsche has spent over a billion dollars overhauling its Stuttgart plant and plans to release the Mission E four-door electric saloon in 2019. Porsche's R&D board member Michael Steiner stated yesterday, that electric vehicles should account for a quarter of yearly Porsche sales in 2025. Future Porsche "e-models" would share an electrified platform co-developed with Audi.
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Porsche ends production of diesel models in favor of EVs originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 20 Feb 2018 11:38:00 EST.
