Porsche to build cars in entirety outside Germany for first time

[GH85Carrera]

Porsche is set to completely manufacture a car outside Germany for the first time, marking a departure from its proud brand claim that all its vehicles are “Made in Germany”.

Matthias Müller, Porsche chief executive, said on Tuesday that after 2016 the next generation of the Cayenne SUV – a vehicle that currently accounts for roughly half of Porsche sales – will be manufactured entirely in Bratislava, Slovakia.
The decision was taken as part of a reorganisation of production within Porsche and the wider Volkswagen Group.

Currently much of the Cayenne – including the bodywork – is made at a facility in Bratislava but the final assembly takes place in Leipzig.

Most German carmakers have long since abandoned the idea of producing all their vehicles in Germany and have opened production facilities overseas to be closer to fast-growing markets.

However, Porsche – maker of the 911 sports car and Panamera saloon – had partly resisted that trend because the “Made in Germany” label was considered a core part of its corporate identity and marketing.

Car buyers in emerging markets are prepared to pay a premium for German, UK and Italian engineering, and premium carmakers therefore tend to have reservations about setting up overseas.

For example, VW spent £800m last year to upgrade its factory in Crewe and keep Bentley models “Made in Britain”, rather than building its new SUV model in Slovakia, which would have been cheaper.

Fiat, owners of Porsche competitors Maserati, have also pledged to invest in their Italian factories to ensure that the sports car brand remains Italian-made, despite cost worries. Companies such as Rolls-Royce and Ferrari make their national identity the centrepiece of their sales pitch.

VW’s Bratislava plant produces the VW Group’s large SUVs such as the Touareg and Audi Q7. Therefore VW stands to derive significant synergy and time savings by manufacturing the Cayenne in its entirety in Slovakia, where labour costs are also lower.

Mr Müller said that for customers the decisive factor is that all Porsche vehicles will continue to be designed and engineered in Germany and noted that within the VW Group all production locations have to achieve the same high standards.

Porsche sales jumped last year by 15 per cent to more than 162,000 vehicles and it has become a big generator of profits for VW. Porsche is expected to be boosted further later this year when it launches the Macan compact SUV.

[onewhippedpuppy]

I'm going to hazard a guess that most buyers of a Porsche SUV, which is already a VW platform, have little concern over the brand's heritage.

[MFAFF]

Hardly a first...Valmet assembled the first gen Boxster in Finland...as a second assembly line to cope with demand.

[Mark Henry]

Ohhh.... wait ....doesn't that make it "not a real Porsche"....

[aigel]

Laughable. Slovenia <> Germany. Sure, they may have the same quality standards in all locations, but I look at those as "minimum" requirements.

They are going to dilute the Porsche brand significantly as we all already expected. The 911 may still be made in Germany and the rest will be nicely designed and engineered cars riding on the image.

When I bought my VW, I made sure it was assembled in Wolfsburg with a majority of parts made in Germany. I would never buy a VW made in Mexcio with a driveline from Bratislava.

Try this: Go visit one of the VW locations outside of Germany. I am not talking about the factory. Go tour the town and see where people live and how they keep their private lives organized ...

G

[BE911SC]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

Most German carmakers have long since abandoned the idea of producing all their vehicles in Germany and have opened production facilities overseas to be closer to fast-growing markets.

That's the public statement. The private reasoning is cheaper labor. There is intense global pressure from banks and other investors for businesses to lower costs/increase profit and Porsche/VW gets the same pressure. They'll build the SUV out of country but keep the 911 German-built so those same bankers and investors don't lose their desire to buy them.

[Tervuren]

Originally Posted by MFAFF

Hardly a first...Valmet assembled the first gen Boxster in Finland...as a second assembly line to cope with demand.

Waaaaaay before the boxster the first 356's were hammered out in an old sawmill in Austria....

[MFAFF]

Originally Posted by Tervuren

Waaaaaay before the boxster the first 356's were hammered out in an old sawmill in Austria....

True..

Guess the Austrian Pelicans of the time bemoaned the fact that Porsches were going to be made in Germany!

[GWN7]

Bratislava was part of Germany 60-70 years ago.....News reports said last year they were planning on building a new plant in China.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by MFAFF

True..

Guess the Austrian Pelicans of the time bemoaned the fact that Porsches were going to be made in Germany!

And all the automated tools that would be used! No more 100% hand built car, just a production vehicle. not a real Porsche anymore.

[MFAFF]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

And all the automated tools that would be used! No more 100% hand built car, just a production vehicle. not a real Porsche anymore.

[Arizona_928]

As long as it ain't made in Mexico...

[jcommin]

Many manufacturing plants in Europe are moving to eastern Europe for labor savings. Not surprised -

As labor wages increase in China, low cost countries like Viet Nam become more attractive. It is a natural migration to find the lowest cost labor.

[pitargue]

Where your Porsche is built will be an option w/ a corresponding price. Why not?

[Chocaholic]

All complaining aside, it's good to see Porsche's evolution as a thriving and growing mark in these very competitive times. Many may not like it, but they're doing something very right.

If all they made was air cooled 911's in Germany, they would likely have gone under years ago.

[Tervuren]

Originally Posted by jcommin

Many manufacturing plants in Europe are moving to eastern Europe for labor savings. Not surprised -

As labor wages increase in China, low cost countries like Viet Nam become more attractive. It is a natural migration to find the lowest cost labor.

Its not entirely about labor wages. Labor regulation can also play a part.

Compare the amount of union red tape doing a convention at Las Vegas - vs the breeze it is in New Orleans. When I finally got to do a booth setup in a non union convention center - the change was ginormous. The facilities may not be up to par with the crime ridden mess the Vegas center, but I was surrounded by actual people, and loved it. Working in union environments in convention centers in different states and cities have me permanently torqued against unions. Maybe they have a place in other trades, but it is ridiculous amounts of red tape, delay, and lack of service at super-charged prices.

[Nickshu]

Anybody see the movie Eurotrip? "Nowhere near Berlin!" They end up in Bratislava...

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