Porsche Agrees to $599 Million Fine Over Diesel Scandal
Porsche has never developed a diesel engine. However, it has sold vehicles fitted with Audi’s diesel engines.
Porsche has agreed to pay a fine of $599 million (€535 million) to the German authorities to end a probe related to the Volkswagen Group’s diesel emission scandal. “According to the investigation results of the Stuttgart Public Prosecutor’s Office negligent breaches of supervisory duties occurred in a department of the division for development of Porsche AG several levels below the executive board in the exhaust gas-related testing of vehicles in relation to their regulatory conformity,” the VW Group said in a recent press statement.
“According to the Stuttgart Public Prosecutor’s Office, the violations of supervisory duties were contributory to partial deviations of Porsche vehicles from regulatory requirements in the period from 2009.”
The VW Group’s diesel scandal unravelled in 2015. Since then, the German automobile conglomerate, which owns nameplates like Porsche, Audi, Bentley, Bugatti and Lamborghini, has spent around $33 billion (€30 billion) in fines and penalties related to the scandal.
The scandal has also negatively impacted the brand image and the reputation of the company. However, the VW Group sold over 10 million vehicles last year. Meanwhile, Porsche sold 256,255 vehicles worldwide in 2018, a record for the sports car manufacturer.
Yet to distance itself from the scandal, Porsche has stopped selling diesel cars. Instead, the company wants to focus on electric and hybrid cars. After all, the hybrid variants of the Panamera are very popular in the European markets. Meanwhile, the German marque will launch its first-ever EV, the Taycan, later this year. Of course, the Taycan will compete with the Tesla Model S. “Porsche is not demonizing diesel,” said Oliver Blume, the company’s CEO. “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.”
Photos: Porsche
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