After Falling Out of Love, Porsche's Diesel Divorce Is Now Complete

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

It always felt little odd whenever a diesel-powered Cayenne sidled up to you next to a stoplight. A Porsche that builds SUVs, we used to mull, and diesels, no less!

The public’s discomfort with a German sports car maker entering the utility vehicle field is long gone, and we can now say the same for Porsche’s short-lived dalliance with diesels. The automaker has stated it’s pulling its last remaining oil-burning models off the market.

A new Porsche is born, cleaner, but perhaps no purer.

According to Autocar, Porsche has discontinued the Macan S Diesel and Panamera 4S Diesel, both European models that were never touched by buyers across the pond. The Cayenne Diesel, which kicked off the brand’s affiliation with compression ignition in 2009, might disappear with the launch of the next-generation model later this year. Porsche tentatively claimed it would field a diesel variant, but hasn’t confirmed a launch date.

In North America, the Cayenne Diesel met an earlier fate during the Volkswagen emissions scandal. In that uber-expensive brouhaha, late-model 3.0-liter TDI models like the Cayenne found themselves in the EPA’s crosshairs. No North American VW Group vehicle carries a diesel anymore.

Porsche was never an enthusiastic adopter of the technology, choosing to borrow engines from the VW Group parts bin rather than develop its own. With diesel sales declining in Europe (volume was down 7.9 percent last year) and governments and regulators howling for cleaner air in cities, diesel’s European tombstone is already in the process of being etched.

The company’s comments to Autocar suggest that the continent’s new testing regimen is behind the dropping of the two models. Porsche doesn’t want to sink any money into bringing diesel engines into compliance with updated emissions standards.

Last year, Porsche CEO Oliver Blume said diesel sales made up just 15 percent of the brand’s volume, and the automaker was spivoting its R&D spending towards electrification. In his view, diesel just wasn’t that important to the company’s long-term fortunes.

In a recent statement on Porsche’s website, R&D board member Michael Steiner laid out the company’s electrification plans while touting the all-electric Mission E sedan, scheduled to enter production by the end of 2019.

“During an initial stage, we will offer electrically powered versions of existing model lines,” Steiner explained. “In addition, however, work will continue on the development of other purely electric vehicles following the example of the Mission E. To speed up progress in this area, Porsche has joined forces with Audi to set up the Premium Platform Electric. Teams from both brands will work together to lay the foundations for future e-vehicles. At the same time, Porsche is forging ahead with hybridisation of the drivetrain.”

Already, there’s been a sharp uptick in European interest for Porsche’s plug-in E-Hybrid lineup. Blame juicy tax incentives for models’ popularity. If governments plan to punish diesel car use, why wouldn’t Porsche pursue the technology that governments reward?

[Images: Porsche]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • Kendahl Kendahl on Feb 21, 2018

    According to Porsche's web site, MSRP for a 2018 Cayman S with no options is $67,700 plus $1,050 for delivery, etc. In 2007, I looked at the Cayman for my retirement present to myself. If I remember correctly, base price for an S was about $60k. Base price for a non-S Cayman was $50k. It is now $55k which isn't bad for 10 years' inflation.

  • ThomasSchiffer ThomasSchiffer on Feb 21, 2018

    An SUV without a diesel option in Europe? That will negatively affect sales, especially in large SUVs like the Macan. Based on visual observation, most Cayenne and Macan SUVs that I have seen are diesel-powered.

  • Wolfwagen Is it me or have auto shows just turned to meh? To me, there isn't much excitement anymore. it's like we have hit a second malaise era. Every new vehicle is some cookie-cutter CUV. No cutting-edge designs. No talk of any great powertrains, or technological achievements. It's sort of expected with the push to EVs but there is no news on that front either. No new battery tech, no new charging tech. Nothing.
  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
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