Quietly dropping a statement onto its website on a Saturday was how Porsche, whose vehicles have been swept up in the Volkswagen group 'dieselgate' scandal, announced it was quitting the fuel for future models.
It said it was "intensifying its activities in the areas of hybrid technology and electromobility and will, in future, no longer offer vehicles with diesel propulsion".
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"Porsche is not demonising diesel. It is, and will remain, an important propulsion technology. We as a sports car manufacturer, however, for whom diesel has always played a secondary role, 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," CEO Oliver Blume said.
By 2022, Porsche said, it would have invested EUR6bn in e-mobility. It said interest in hybrid models was already taking off with 63% of Panameras sold in Europe being hybrid.
Diesel demand was dropping and was 12% of Porsche 2017 sales worldwide.
The automaker actually dropped diesel models last February and now confirmed it plans no more.
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By GlobalDataThe 2019 Taycan will be its first all electric model.
Porsche claims its manufacture is CO2 neutral and it will be supplied with 'green' electricity via an ultra-fast charging infrastructure spread over Europe.
By 2025, every second new Porsche vehicle could have an electric drive – either hybrid or purely electric, the automaker promised.
