A high-ranking Porsche executive has explained why the German brand opted to ditch diesel power in 2018, insisting “we are not making it the devil”.
Speaking at the reveal of the Cayenne Coupé, Detlev von Platen, member of the executive board for sales and marketing, told journalists diesel had never been a strength nor a priority for the brand.
“I’m not saying the diesel is wrong. We delivered the last Porsche diesel in February 2018 and we will of course continue to care about the customers who are driving these diesel Porsches.
“We are not making it the devil. Diesel, I think, is still a modern technology if you want to contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gases. But it has never been the strength and the focus of Porsche,” he said.
Von Platen revealed that in its strongest year, diesel made up just 12 percent of Porsche sales.
“We didn’t develop the engines, we bought them from Audi but we are still taking care of the customers,” he added.
“When we announced it we didn’t feel any drop because we could see a very nice transfer from diesel to plug-in hybrid technology,” Von Platen said.
