Porsche accused of fixing emissions tests to help UK owners save £225 a year on taxes

PORSCHE has been accused of cheating official emissions tests in an attempt to help its UK customers avoid tax.

The German car manufacturer is alleged to have modified how their Cayman R model completed emissions tests to make sure it was placed in a lower tax band.

The marque is accused of starting the models in second gear during emissions tests, which would produce lower CO2 readings.

By ensuring some of their models were placed in a lower tax bracket for vehicle excise duty, Porsche could have saved each owner up to £225 a year.

, up to 1,500 owners of the Boxster S, Spyder, Cayman R and Cayman S could have paid less tax as a result of the test change in 2009, costing the Government up to £3 million.

The Cayman R is sold in the UK with an official carbon dioxide emissions rating of 221g/km, but the same car has a rating of 228g/km in the rest of Europe.

A lower UK rating means owners pay a road tax of £315 for cars emitting 201-225g/km instead of the higher £540 tax for cars in the 226-255 g/km band.

Porsche executive, Stephan Laux, said that the reason for the difference in CO2 results was because of the “different taxation regimes” in the UK and the rest of Europe at a freedom of information tribunal in 2015.

The alleged cheating came to light when 51-year-old John Cieslik sued Porsche in 2011 over what he said was a safety defect in his Cayman R that almost caused him to have a collision.

Porsche finally settled the case in February, but Cieslik uncovered information about the emissions tests during legal proceedings.

Porsche told The Times that it was unable to comment on the alleged cheating because it was “linked to ongoing legal proceedings”.

German police raided Porsche and Audi premises in March in relation to the diesel emissions scandal concerning parent company Volkswagen.

The raid came just a month after Porsche announced they would be scrapping diesel versions of the Macan SUV and Panamera saloon ahead of tough new emissions regulations and tax hikes.