EPA Giving Porsche an Extra Sniff

2016 Porsche Cayenne Diesel (Credit: © Porsche)

VW is already in tons of pain, as it will almost certainly receive a fine totaling in the billions, but its stock also took a $17 billion hit since the “dieselgate” scandal broke. Now, new issues have arisen, as the EPA has announced it will push beyond just VW and Audi TDI-powered vehicles, and start sniffing the exhaust of Porsches too.

For those unaware of the more timid side of Porsche’s lineup, the Cayenne crossover has an available VW-built TDI engine. In this case, it is a 3.0-liter V-6 engine, not the 2.0-liter unit that has been the main subject of the investigation thus far. This engine is also included in the Audi Q5, adding even more fuel to this inferno.

While there are no official sales numbers available for the diesel-powered Q5 and Cayenne, I can say that Porsche has sold a total of 10,944 Cayennes and Audi has delivered 31,417 Q5s so far in 2015. Diesel vehicles do not sell well in the U.S., but they have seen a surge in recent years thanks to their higher fuel economy and (possibly untrue) lower emissions. This growth is almost bittersweet, as it could potentially add thousands of vehicles to this growing issue.

While there is no official word that VW Auto Group included the 3.0-liter TDI in its scheme, I think it is safe to assume there was some funny business with these engines too.

We should hear back from the EPA on whether the 3.0-liter engine has the same switching system or not pretty quickly, so keep it locked here for all the latest.