Porsche stops making diesel models after VW emissions scandal

FILE — In this Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2015 photo the word ‘Diesel’ and the logo of the German car manufacturer Porsche is pictured in Stuttgart, Germany. Porsche’s chief executive Oliver Blum says the sports car maker won’t produce any new diesel models in th Credit: AP/Press Association Images

German carmaker Porsche has stopped manufacturing diesel models in the wake of parent company Volkswagen’s emissions scandal.

Porsche CEO Oliver Blume said that although Porsche never developed and produced diesel engines, its image has suffered from the scandal that erupted in 2015.

He said the company wants to concentrate on “what we can do particularly well,” citing high-performance petrol models, hybrids and from next year electric cars.

Mr Blume added: “That also means that there will be no more diesels from Porsche in the future.”

He said Porsche has not had any diesels in its range since February and the “test phase” has shown that many diesel drivers are prepared to switch to petrol or hybrid cars.

Last year VW agreed to a settlement worth $4.3 billion (£3.5bn) with the US Justice Department over the scandal, which began in September 2015.

The car maker was found by US environmental regulators to have installed "defeat device" software which switched engines to a cleaner mode when they underwent official testing.

The company was found to have cheated air pollution tests for 11 million diesel vehicles worldwide, including 1.2 million in the UK.