Porsche drops diesel, gears up for electric future

Having risen in prominence during the last decade for its low fuel consumption and generally low emissions, the diesel engine made its way into just about every class of vehicle on the road – even into those from sports-car manufacturer, Porsche.

However, diesel’s time at the German manufacturer is up; Porsche will no longer offer diesel engines, but instead will concentrate its efforts in the environmentally friendly areas of hybrid technology and electro-mobility.

Demand for diesel models is dropping, notes Porsche, with only 12 percent of all Porsche models sold worldwide during 2017 being diesel. On the other hand, 63 percent of Panameras – the company’s four-door, executive saloon car – sold in Europe are hybrid models.

“Porsche is not demonising diesel. It will remain an important propulsion technology. As a sports-car manufacturer for whom diesel has always played a secondary role, we 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,” says Oliver Blume, CEO of Porsche AG.

And the company has its diesel-free future planned … its first purely electric sports car, the Taycan, will come to the market in 2019. Significantly, its manufacture is CO₂ neutral and it is supplied with green electricity via an ultra-fast charging infrastructure spread over Europe.

By 2022, Porsche will have invested more than €6 billion (R98 billion) in e-mobility, creating the basis for sustainable growth into the future. It envisages that, by 2025, every second new Porsche vehicle could have an electric drive – either hybrid or purely electric.

“Our aim is to occupy the technological vanguard – we are intensifying our focus on the core of our brand, while consistently aligning our company with the mobility of the future,” Blume concludes.