Skip to main content

Porsche is getting out of the diesel business before building more plug-ins

Porsche is getting out of the diesel business before building more plug-ins

/

Automaker stopped offering diesels in the US in 2015, but now the rest of the world loses them, too

Share this story

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Porsche hasn’t shied away from making a big push for electrification in its future lineup, even significantly boosting its investment in the full EVs and plug-in hybrids. But one type of propulsion may be running on borrowed time at the German automaker.

Porsche has stopped production of cars with diesel engines, according to Autocar. The UK-based automotive publication reported Tuesday all models equipped with diesel engines have been dropped following an emissions compliance issue for European markets. Instead of modifying the 3.0-liter turbodiesel V6 engine in the Macan SUV, the company has decided to stop offering it altogether. The engine was also used in the Panamera hatchback and Sport Turismo wagon.

Another indication of Porsche’s diesel retreat may have been that the new Cayenne SUV that was revealed in August was not offered with a diesel, but will get plug-in hybrid variants in the future. While Porsche is just now stopping diesel production for global markets, the company hasn’t sold any vehicles equipped with its turbodiesel engines in North America since 2015, following the Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal that also implicated various Audi models. The company ditched plans to sell the Macan diesel in the US at that time.

It’s clear Porsche’s attention has shifted to electrification

Yet Porsche isn’t giving up on the internal combustion engine, according to a statement Monday from Michael Steiner of the automaker’s Executive Board for Research and Development.

Will Porsche turn its back completely on combustion engines after the market launch of the Mission E? By no means. Or at least not in the foreseeable future. Purely electric vehicles will play an increasingly significant role in the future, for Porsche as well as for everyone else. In our opinion, a scenario in which every fourth Porsche vehicle is delivered with an electric powertrain by 2025 is entirely realistic, provided the demand is there.

It’s still a shame the 422 horsepower V8 turbodiesel in the Panamera is a goner, because that made for a startlingly quick car that was vaguely efficient. But that role has been filled by Porsche’s line of plug-in hybrids offered on the Cayenne and Panamera now, and likely on the rest of the lineup given this month’s $7.4 billion investment in EVs and mobility services. The upcoming Mission E full EV is also set to give Porsche more of a name for performance electric cars, and it will form the basis of other full EVs, the company said. While Autocar reported Porsche may not be done with diesels forever, it’s very clear the automaker’s attention has shifted to electrification.