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Porsche has stopped selling diesel-engined models across Europe.
Porsche has officially ended production of all diesel vehicles in the face of changing consumer demand and upcoming stricter emissions tests.
'Diesel engines traditionally play a subordinate role at Porsche. Porsche does not develop or build diesel engines itself. Currently, the demand for diesel models is falling, whereas interest in hybrid and petrol models is increasing significantly.
In a move that a Porsche spokesman said mirrors the 'cultural shift" of the brand's customers, the German manufacturer has discontinued its last two diesel models, the Macan S Diesel and Panamera 4S Diesel (pictured below), just nine years after its first oil-burner hit the market.
The brand revealed that the diesel's removal was also linked to 'another software update" that has been subject to an 'ongoing consultation with the authorities". While not directly confirming it, this suggests that like with BMW and its F80 M3, Porsche has decided against re-engineering the Macan S Diesel to conform to the new Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP) standards.
In light of these facts, as well as the ongoing consultation with the authorities in relation to another software update, Porsche has made changes to its production planning and set the end-of-production date for the Macan S Diesel to 15 February 2018. This decision means that all orders for the vehicle type Macan S Diesel have already been taken out of the production program.
The cull comes after the brand chose not the launch the new version of its Cayenne SUV with a diesel engine. The original Cayenne was the first Porsche to offer diesel power back in 2009.
In an official statement, Porsche said that the Macan S Diesel, the only such version of the brand's Range Rover Velar rival, has been 'taken out of the production programme" as buyer demand moves towards petrol and hybrid versions.
The brand revealed that the diesel's removal was also linked to 'another software update" that has been subject to an 'ongoing consultation with the authorities". While not directly confirming it, this suggests that like with BMW and its F80 M3, Porsche has decided against re-engineering the Macan S Diesel to conform to the new Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP) standards.
Such a move highlights the shrinking demand for the model, which a Porsche UK spokesman said represented a small portion of the SUV's 97,000 global sales from 2017. The Macan is also due to be facelifted in April.
The same justification was given for the demise of the Panamera 4S Diesel, which was removed from Porsche's ranks during the luxury car's range update at the start of the year.
Porsche said the change was linked to falling demand for the variant, which accounted for 15% of the Panamera's 11,000 global sales in 2017. Petrol versions accounted for 35%, while the Panamera 4 E-Hybrid accounted for 50%.
An inside source stated that the current lack of diesel cars in its range doesn't "mean Porsche has decided to stop all diesel models" forever. But Porsche boss Oliver Blume revealed last year that 'diesel is not so important for Porsche", adding that diesel sales made up just 15% of Porsche's total worldwide sales, mostly in Europe.
Unlike its petrol engines, Porsche never developed its own diesel powerplants, instead sourcing them from elsewhere within the Volkswagen Group. Porsche halted investment in diesel last year, shifting much of its R&D focus to electrification.
Porsche introduced its first diesel-engined road car in 2009 with the facelift of its first-generation Cayenne, this after then CEO Wendelin Wiedeking said there would never be a diesel-engined Porsche. With Macan S diesel production having ended, that is the case once more. With the new Panamera or the Cayenne not offered with diesel engines since their respective launches, despite previous generations of the cars enjoying great success with both V6 and V8 turbo-diesel engines, Porsche's entry in the diesel market is over.
Porsche's full range of electrified vehicles, headlined by the Mission E sports-saloon, isn't scheduled for launch until 2020.