Porsche purges last diesel engines in lineup amid cultural shift to electrification

To jump onto the next step of going greener, Porsche announced that they will be getting rid of the last few vehicles that have diesel-fueled engines in their lineup, so that they could focus on electrifying their vehicles. In fact, European countries will no longer offer the Panamera and Macan with the oil burning mills. The first Macan S Diesel and Panamera 4S Diesel initially came out nine years ago.

In an interview between Autocar and Porsche, the automaker cited a cultural shift as the reason for the decision. There was also a regulatory reason behind the choice as there has been a software update that has recently been involved in an “ongoing consultation with the authorities”.

This was decided after the automaker chose not to launch the new version of its Cayenne SUV with a diesel engine. In fact, the Cayenne was actually the very first Porsche to offer diesel power back in 2009.

Porsche also said in one of their statements that the Macan S Diesel (Range Rover Velar’s rival) has been taken out of the production programme, as there is a higher demand towards petrol and hybrid.

When they finally get rid of all the diesels, Porsche plans to slowly focus on selling hybrids and EVs. In fact, these models tend to be popular with German brand’s buyers. To further support this statement, around half of Panamera sales are actually the E-Hybrid variant, compared to only 15 percent of them being diesels - according to Autocar. For now, the Macan doesn’t come in a hybrid variant yet, but this should soon be available for the next refresh.

The German automaker’s first fully electric vehicle will be a production version of the Mission E concept. This is scheduled to arrive in 2019 and will eventually offer a range of power options. For the base model, it will have an output of 402 horsepower (300 kilowatts), and the range-topping variant will have as much as 670 horsepower (500 kilowatts). It will then have a driving range of 310 miles at least.

Currently, the company is deciding whether to have their second EV or not. And right now, what Porsche executives are considering the most would be an electric version of the next generation Macan. However, if this comes to life, the model would not arrive until early next decade. That is actually still a lot of time for the automaker’s planners to change their plan.

Aside from that, Porsche’s iconic 911 is said to get a plug-in hybrid variant between 2023 and 2024. With the batteries that it comes equipped with, the model can go up to 43 miles just on electric power alone.