The German Transport Minister has ordered the recall of 22,000 Porsche Cayenne cars to remove what he called an illegal software that controlled the 4×4’s emissions.

Alexander Dobrindt said that tests conducted on the luxury car’s 3-liter TDI model found that it had been equipped with a “defeat device” program, used to disguise the real extent of pollution.

“There is no explanation as to why this software is in this car,” Dobrindt said.

“We forbid authorisation for this vehicle. That means that no further cars can put on the market.”

Porsche will bear the brunt of the recall costs and the news comes as the German car manufacturer’s sister company Volkswagen said it would refit almost a million more diesel cars in Germany, in the aftermath of 2015’s emissions scandal.

Allegations about Porsche first emerged last month after the German Magazine Der Spiegel reported that the Cayenne had a “warm up mode” designed to comply with emissions requirements.