Porsche has moved to quell rumours that it has made the momentous decision to kill off all its diesel-powered models, effective immediately. The rumours, kicked off by British magazines Autocar, Auto Express and Evo, insisted the German sportscar powerhouse was ending production of its diesel models in the face of a "cultural shift" from consumers. Porsche has been embracing electrification and inching away from the compression fuel for a while, with the third generation Cayenne SUV launching with three petrol engines and a delayed diesel V6. More critically, it halted production of its Macan diesel on February 15. It has also stopped making the Panamera 4S diesel. Yet the story is more complex than the British claim, with Porsche unwilling to voluntarily walk away from a third of its model mix in Western Europe, or about 15% globally. The core problem lies in two areas: the new worldwide harmonised light vehicles test procedure (WLPT), real-world test procedures being phased in by ...
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