Porsche to offer 1,500 unsold Cayenne ‘Dirty’ Diesels as used vehicles

Volkswagen Chief Executive Herbert Diess recently stated that the automaker would never sell another diesel model in the United States, but that statement might not have been totally accurate.

Although VW likely has given up on developing new diesel models for the U.S., it still has some old models to deal with — namely the Porsche Cayenne Diesel. You see, when VW announced it was halting diesel sales in the U.S. last year, Porsche dealers still had about 1,500 new Cayenne Diesels in stock.

VW was able to quickly divert other Cayenne Diesel models destined for the U.S. to other global markets, but those 1,500 units already here were forced to stay within our borders. That's right, there are still 1,500 brand new year-old Cayenne Diesels waiting for their forever home.

As it stands, Porsche can't sell those vehicles until it has a fix, but one is expected in the not-too-distant-future. So what happens to those SUVs once a fix is found? Porsche will sell them as used vehicles.

"Then they're going to be sold as used cars," Porsche Cars North America CEO Klaus Zellmer told Automotive News on the sidelines of the recent Los Angeles auto show. "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."

The Porsche Cayenne Diesel carried a sticker price of about $62,000 when new, but the "used" versions should offer a nice discount over that year-old MSRP.