Porsche Has a Plan for Its Idled Diesel Inventory
There are currently over one thousand 2014 through 2016 model year Cayenne TDIs in the United States that Porsche cannot sell, all thanks to VW Group’s ongoing emissions fiasco. You might be wondering what Porsche plans to do with its stop-sale utility vehicles. Recycle them? Ship them all to Germany? Burn them on the world’s largest-ever funeral pyre?
If things go according to plan, there will be good news for anyone in the market for a used Porsche Cayenne with a diesel motor and extremely low miles.
Once Porsche has an approved emissions fix for the 3.0-liter diesel-powered crossover, it plans to sell the almost 1,500 vehicles as used cars. Beyond the subversive software used to cheat emissions testing, there is nothing technically wrong with the Cayennes. However, they’ve remained struck on dealership lots for over a year because of a stop-sale order. While Volkswagen Group has reportedly reached an agreement with U.S. regulators on how to fix its 3.0-liter diesels, Porsche still has to await final approval from the courts on how to proceed.
Automotive News caught Porsche Cars North America CEO Klaus Zellmer discussing the matter at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Zellmer said that the company will repair the 10,000 affected diesel Cayennes with owners and then fix the nearly 1,500 sitting on dealer lots.
“Then they’re going to be sold as used cars,” Zellmer explained during an interview. “They will be low-mileage, very attractive used cars, based on the age of the car. There’s always a market for any car. You just have to get the price right.”
If you want to lay your hands on a Porsche diesel, this may be your last opportunity to do so. While Volkswagen is abandoning the TDI powerplant in North America entirely, Audi of America’s Scott Keogh suggested that the Q7 TDI could come back eventually. While that means the Cayenne Diesel might return too, the prospects have settled in some extremely murky waters. However, it can be said with some degree of certainty that this is the last diesel Porsche we’re likely to see in the U.S. for a while.
As for the remaining diesel crossovers allocated to the U.S.?
“They stayed in Germany,” Zellmer said. “We don’t have to take care of those. So we’re actually in pretty good shape. Once we have the tactical fix, we’re rather confident.”
[Image: Porsche]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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Maybe they can fix these few cars, but no word on what the results will be. Surely they'll be down on fuel economy, driveability, reliability, or something people care about. So your discounted 2016 Porsche diesel will always have an asterisk next to it, sort of like the 'roided Soviet-bloc Olympic athletes of the 70s. No thanks.
Who the holy f**k wants a Porsche diesel anyway?