German watchdog to eye Porsche emissions

The German transport ministry has ordered the KBA watchdog agency to examine emissions of VW unit and sports car maker Porsche, a ministry spokesman told a news agency on Monday (12 June) following a critical media report.

According to Reuters, German news magazine Der Spiegel reported on Friday that diesel versions of Porsche's Cayenne V6 TDI SUV had much higher emissions than legally allowed.

The company said it did not understand the test results, and noted that emissions depend on conditions such as engine load, speed and temperature.

In the US last month, VW received final approval to recall and repair, around 58,000 2013-2016 Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche 3.0L TDI V6 vehicles ('Generation 2' vehicles) to bring them into compliance with the emissions standards to which they were originally certified, if an appropriate emissions compliant repair was approved by US regulators.

The implementation of the 3.0L TDI V6 settlement programme was to begin within 15 business days.