Porsche Puts Macan Diesel US Launch On Hold

After the Volkswagen emission cheating scandal, diesel-powered cars have become a touchy subject, especially Stateside.

Nevertheless, Automotive News reports that Porsche Cars North America CEO Klaus Zellmer still wants to bring a diesel-powered variant of the Macan crossover to the US market.

Confirmed by a Porsche executive in 2014, the German car maker’s entry-level, diesel powered variant of the crossover was scheduled to make its North American debut in late 2015 or early 2016. It was expected to be priced below $60,000 and to be powered by a 245 PS V6 engine, but in the wake of “Dieselgate” the model was put on hold.

Zellmer believes that there still is potential for such a vehicle in spite of the current situation, though it’s going to take some time.

“We haven’t made a decision on what time this car is going to be introduced in the American market. It depends on when we get the technical fix”, he explained. “The technical solution has to be accepted by the authorities, then we have to do the recall, and we’re going to repair the cars seamlessly for our customers.”

Porsche pulled its diesel-powered Cayenne from the market last fall, even though, according to Zellmer, customers were apparently very interested in the product.

“They say, ‘Whatever you do, don’t take that car off the market because we love it.’ Customers love its torque and the range.”

The problem is, the authorities were not so charmed so buyers will have to either wait or get a petrol version.