The future of diesel vehicles has been cast into further doubt following the announcement that Porsche has become the first German carmaker to drop all diesel offerings from its model range.
The Stuttgart giant’s parent company Volkswagen hit the headlines in 2015 when it was found that it had been cheating emissions tests, leading to the public’s confidence in diesel plummeting and sales suffering a similar drop-off. Porsche had already paused production of its Cayenne and Panamera diesel models in February, but now it’s confirmed its future will be completely free of diesel options. Instead, the focus will switch to hybrids and pure electric vehicles like the upcoming Taycan, which is due to be launched next year.
Oliver Blume, CEO of Porsche AG said: “Porsche is not demonising diesel. It is, and will remain, an important propulsion technology. We as a sports car manufacturer, however, for whom diesel has always played a secondary role, have come to the conclusion that we would like our future to be diesel-free.”
In 2017, just 12 per cent of Porsches sold worldwide were fitted with a diesel engine, so this is not a wholesale change for the manufacturer. Porsche has insisted it will continue to look after the owners of its diesel models, but what will happen in the future remains to be seen. With the company only having produced its first diesel car model a decade ago, will black-pump Porsches go on to become collectors’ items? Only time will tell…
Porsche diesel power hasn’t just propelled its cars. From 1957 to 1963 the Porsche plant produced more than 12,000 Standard 218 tractors. Porsche, which halted production of diesel models in February, has announced that its future will be diesel-free.
