Porsche abandons diesel for good
CEO Oliver Blume confirms that Porsche would like its future to be "diesel-free"
We thought it was happening, then we thought it wasn’t, and now it looks like it’s happening again. Porsche has officially abandoned diesel. But this time it’s for good, because even though the Stuttgart marque hasn’t produced an oil-burning model since the Macan S Diesel and Panamera 4S Diesel were canned at the start of 2018, CEO Oliver Blume has now confirmed that no further diesel Porsches are planned for the future.
“Porsche is not demonising diesel, it is, and will remain, an important propulsion technology,” he said. “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. Naturally, we will continue to look after our existing diesel customers with the professionalism they expect.”
That’s pretty clear then. Ok, so very few PHers are going to be overwhelmed with grief at such a decision, but we should still consider how significant this change is. Diesel, even in times of such pressure, is still a very popular fuel source and therefore accounts for significant sales volumes.
When Porsche canned the diesel Panamera, for example, it did so at a time when sales for the model still represented 15% of Panamera demand – or about 11,000 cars in 2017. Combine that with the sales performance of the Macan S Diesel and black pump cars accounted for 15% of all of Porsche’s sales in 2017. That equated to a number just shy of 40,000 units.
Given that Porsche has never made its own diesel engines in the 10 years since it started offering them, instead plucking the motors from elsewhere in the Volkswagen Group, it’s never exactly been laden with heavy development costs. So it seems like the decision to abandon diesel may be a little premature. Surely there’s life left in the black pump yet? It turns out that the call has been made as much to align Porsche with its increasingly electrified future as it is to distance itself from the seemingly never-ending Dieselgate scandal. Blume put it frankly: “Porsche's image has suffered. The diesel crisis caused us a lot of trouble”.
The decision means we won’t be getting a diesel Cayenne, despite earlier suggestions we would. Although those wanting a long-distance Porsche with lots of torque can, of course, opt for the E-Hybrid models, which are included in the Cayenne and Panamera ranges and share the same electrified V6 powerplants. Porsche has high expectations for its electrified models; they’re fast becoming its most popular variants in its non sports car line-up. The Panamera 4 E-Hybrid accounted for half of Panamera sales in 2017.
Things look quite different on the used market, however, where diesel Porsche models still make up a large portion of available stock. Diesel Cayennes account for 55% of the models listed on the PH Classifieds, while Panamera diesels make up 27% of the mix. As far as road presence is concerned then, we won’t be saying bye to oil-burning Porsches just yet.
It'll be the last diesel I ever have, diesel belongs in trucks, trains and ships.
these days things are different as everyone hates diesel
It'll be the last diesel I ever have, diesel belongs in trucks, trains and ships.
We used to own a Volvo XC60, a D5 of course, because that was what you had to buy if you wanted to sell it at the end. No-one wanted a petrol SUV in the UK, and dealers would never stock them. The Volvo's replacement came in the form of a Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland, a car that isn't even offered as a petrol-engined variant here in the UK. You have to spend £70K plus to get one with a V8, and thats not the car I or MrsB. wants. Yet in the US, Jeep offer the GC with a petrol V6. We don't do the miles to benefit from the greater economy of a diesel, but we have to have one because of what the market dictates. I'd gladly have bought a V6 petrol Jeep.
Now I'm potentially faced with the situation that our Jeep has depreciated more heavily as more manufacturers move away from the black-pump due to now feeling that they aren't being PC anymore. Its the customer losing out. If Porsche now determines that diesel isn't for them (and I for one am fine with that as I shuddered at the thought of a diesel Porsche anyway) how many Cayenne and Macan buyers will suffer at trade-in time, when they only bought a diesel in the first place as that was the "sensible thing for residuals" when you were looking to buy an SUV in the first place a few years back?
The fuel penalty between say a Diesel Cayenne and a petrol one, if you do any significant mileage is enormous, and to be honest if you have a big vehicle like that it needs a decently torquey engine to shift it, I would say the diesel version was better than the V6 model they did, if thats your choice, diesel every time as you may as well have the economy benefit.
Then I think some people think they are being sensible and parsimonious, i know a lady who got a brand new Cayenne diesel, does a tiny mileage and has a separate car for carting her dogs about, it does a couple of thousand miles a year. I know loads of people like that going on about 40 plus mpg yet completely missing the fact it cost sixty grand and sheds way more in depreciation each month than it costs in fuel.
Porsche are generally slightly ahead of the curve and other manufacturers are dropping diesels, Volvo has, they are being phased out of supermini ranges.
Don't most have a GFV? So perhaps someone has been sneaky and worked out if they don't want a rump of unsellable cars then stop making them now?
Porsche has done the maths, the US markets are booming with truck/SUV & CrossOver sales booming so they can lessen the impact of lost sales in Europe, Mercedes are staying with rumours that they're teaming up with Bosch to have exclusive use of Bosch's diesel new tech for the next five years & are working on an all 4.0 V8d for the G Wagon/GL/S Class models.
I just got myself a 2017 diesel V8 Panamera. it replaced a C63, I loathed diesels but for 20k business miles a year it just makes sense in so many ways (and it'll out perform the 63 anyway). I didn't buy the petrol because I'm tight - the petrols were the same or more expensive to purchase yet wouldn't come near the economy of the dirty stinky diesel.
More so I had it at a bargain (all things relative) due to the fact its diesel and OPCs generally want rid. I signed a disclaimer saying Porsche would refund money based on the purchase price and age/mileage at the time, If politicians and the like brought in legislation that made my car unroadworthy. Gives us Porsche diesel customers piece of mind that atleast in our ownership we wouldn't face any issues regarding the current diesel circus.
I just got myself a 2017 diesel V8 Panamera. it replaced a C63, I loathed diesels but for 20k business miles a year it just makes sense in so many ways (and it'll out perform the 63 anyway). I didn't buy the petrol because I'm tight - the petrols were the same or more expensive to purchase yet wouldn't come near the economy of the dirty stinky diesel.
More so I had it at a bargain (all things relative) due to the fact its diesel and OPCs generally want rid. I signed a disclaimer saying Porsche would refund money based on the purchase price and age/mileage at the time, If politicians and the like brought in legislation that made my car unroadworthy. Gives us Porsche diesel customers piece of mind that atleast in our ownership we wouldn't face any issues regarding the current diesel circus.
I can see how it would be in the same ball park and diesels go well based on high torque from low RPM but surely, ultimately a C63 at full noise will be quicker than the Panamera ?
I don't have a diesel though, and never intend to! I just have more efficient cars for everyday use!
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