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Do you also know why Leipzig is not expanded to build more SUVs? The assembly of Cayennes has been moved to Slovakia. With so much land in Leipzig, it would have benn easily expanded to assemble Cayennes, Macans and Panameras.
Do you also know why Leipzig is not expanded
to build more SUVs? The assembly of Cayennes
has been moved to Slovakia. With so much land
in Leipzig, it would have benn easily expanded
to assemble Cayennes, Macans and Panameras.
It's a bit complicated. The only model built from
scratch* in Leipzig is the Macan, which was the last
new product line developed. The Cayenne has been
welded, painted & partially assembled in Bratislava
Slovakia since day one. Cayennes initial production
space at the massive VW facility in Slovakia is shared
with the VW Touareg, Audi Q7 & the Bentley Bentayga!
Former Porsche CEO Wendelin Wiedeking had plans
to let the Cayenne be completely built in Slovakia &
exported to all markets from there. He wanted to
make room in Leipzig for the Panamera & future
models like the Mission E. But that plan is now
apparently discarded (or delayed) by the new
management at PAG. Part of it is Porsche wants
to make everyone believe that the Cayenne is made
(mostly) in Germany at Leipzig. So final assembly
will continue to be at that location & not Bratislava.
Just as 'Made in Zuffenhausen' is part of the Porsche
myth, 'Made in Germany' is the next best alternative
for any other model built by Porsche. 'Made in Slovakia'
doesn't have the same ring to it!
The Panamera has been welded & painted at a VW
plant in Hanover since day one. It arrives in Leipzig
much less completed than the Cayenne...but it still
doesn't start life at Leipzig. However, I believe PAG
will go ahead, if it has not already done so, and built
the Panamera entirely in Leipzig like it does now with
the Macan. They can have better quality control &
cost effectiveness if they do the Panamera entirely
in-house...and depend less in another VW Group
organization. Last year we saw all Cayman production
transferred to Zuffenhausen from the VW Group's
'Karmann' plant at Osnabrück. And as you might
also recall, pre-981 Boxsters & Caymans were built
also in some numbers in Finland under contract with
Valmet from 1997 to 2011. But finally last year, PAG
was able to increase production efficiencies at its
Zuffenhausen facilities to around 250 cars a day.
And that allowed them to be able to build all 991
& 718 in Zuffenhausen.
It is easy to see all the stages of assembly in
Leipzig. And the only truly long assembly line
is the Macan. Next in length is the Panamera.
And the Cayenne, at least when I was last
there in July of 2015, is pretty advanced by
the time it gets off the rail cars & enters the
assembly line at Leipzig!
Regardless, PAG has plenty of room to grow
in Leipzig. And now that the Stuttgart-based
labor councils have gotten their way with the
Mission E plant in Zuffenhausen, it's Leipzig's
unions turn to bring home the 'Speck'..if you
get my drift.
Saludos,
Eduardo
Regensburg, Bavaria
*Exception: All gasoline engines are built in
Zuffenhausen for all Porsche models. Hybrids
& Diesels are the exception & built by another
VW group (Audi I think).
.... For this reason, the European Delivery department, Exclusive Customer
Consultation department and the Porsche Selection Shop in
Zuffenhausen will be closed to the public until the first quarter
of 2018.
European Delivery in Leipzig will continue to operate as normal
during this period. ....
Eduardo
Romantik Hotel Friedrich von Schiller
Bietigheim-Bissingen
Eduardo:
Thank for your brilliant write-up of current construction and closures at Zuffenhausen. For those contemplating European Delivery of a Porsche in the next 8 to 9 months, it is invaluable. Before your post, the last published date that I was aware of for the re-opening of the European Delivery section at Zuffenhausen was "... at the end of the third quarter of 2017."
Supposedly, the European Delivery office at Leipzig can handle only seven (7) or eight (8) individual deliveries a day, unless a larger group is put together by the PCNA European Delivery office here in the States. Are both parts of that statement that true to your knowledge? Thanks again for taking the time to post Parts A &B. Type 2
Last edited by Type 2; 04-21-2017 at 01:19 AM.
Reason: MSP
*Exception: All gasoline engines are built in
Zuffenhausen for all Porsche models. Hybrids
& Diesels are the exception & built by another
VW group (Audi I think).[/QUOTE]
Eduardo, thanks for the thoughtful explanation. I appreciate it.
Ah! Four cylinder gasoline engines for the Macan come from mothership VW, I think.
Eduardo, thanks for the thoughtful explanation.
I appreciate it. Ah! Four cylinder gasoline engines
for the Macan come from mothership VW, I think.
Yes, I heard that VW has a small workshop in the
Schwarzwald dedicated to wind-up four cylinder engines....
I'll get to the bottom of all of this as soon as
I can find out. I just landed in sunny & somewhat
warmer (relative to das fatherland) Italia!
This is the only country I know of that has
been named after an automobile. So that
is pretty impressive, don't you think?
Eduardo, also coming up to the Cologne area this time? The dealer in Bensberg has a beautiful Targa in Mamboo or Bamboo (I guess you know the correct name of the color...) green. And some other cool PTS colors. Furthermore, 1st of Mai 2500 Porsche will meet here http://www.porschefreunde-1mai.de (sorry German, but pictures speak for themselves I hope)
Thank for your brilliant write-up of current construction and closures at Zuffenhausen. For those contemplating European Delivery of a Porsche in the next 8 to 9 months, it is invaluable. Before your post, the last published date that I was aware of for the re-opening of the European Delivery section at Zuffenhausen was "... at the end of the third quarter of 2017."
Supposedly, the European Delivery office at Leipzig can handle only seven (7) or eight (8) individual deliveries a day, unless a larger group is put together by the PCNA European Delivery office here in the States. Are both parts of that statement that true to your knowledge? Thanks again for taking the time to post Parts A &B. Type 2
AFAIK ED is "Leipzig only" until further notice - lets hope that the new Zuffenhausen ED facility opens in time for 2018 ED's (May-July)!!!
I do not not for certain the capacity available at Leipzig, but if its anything
like Zuffenhausen its of that order of magnitude...
Thank for your brilliant write-up of current construction
and closures at Zuffenhausen. For those contemplating
European Delivery of a Porsche in the next 8 to 9 months,
it is invaluable. Before your post, the last published date
that I was aware of for the re-opening of the European
Delivery section at Zuffenhausen was "... at the end of
the third quarter of 2017."
Supposedly, the European Delivery office at Leipzig can
handle only seven (7) or eight (8) individual deliveries
a day, unless a larger group is put together by the PCNA
European Delivery office here in the States. Are both
parts of that statement that true to your knowledge?
Thanks again for taking the time to post Parts A &B.
Type 2
Originally Posted by Larry Cable
AFAIK ED is "Leipzig only" until further notice - lets
hope that the new Zuffenhausen ED facility opens
in time for 2018 ED's (May-July)!!!
I do not not for certain the capacity available at
Leipzig, but if its anything like Zuffenhausen its
of that order of magnitude...
As you read, the official announcement tell us
that 'European Delivery in Leipzig will continue
to operate as normal during this period.' But
what is normal?
Actually, Leipzig's European Delivery capabilities
have been traditionally limited. Perhaps not as
many requests & their set up area is not that
large (see photos I took in 2015 below). When
I was last there two years ago, they had just
four Macans ready for factory pick up by their
owners. Notice that the plates are German.
It's quite common for Porsche customers in
Germany to order from their local dealers but
pick up the vehicles at the factory. Normally,
that is the bulk of 'factory delivery, which we
refer to as 'European Delivery' if it involves
non-European market customers like us.
I would anticipate that until Zuffenhausen factory
delivery opens up again in the first half of 2018
(even assuming some delays), the slots for so-called
'European Delivery' for North American customers
at Leipzig will be limited. And if you are ordering a
991 or 718, PAG will have the expense of trucking it
to Leipzig from Zuffenhausen.
So it would not surprise me if they try to discourage
'European Delivery' (via limited slots or raised fees)
until the Zuffenhausen 'factory delivery' center is
re-established. But I do not know for sure. Suggest
you contact the person in Atlanta tasked with dealing
with European Delivery for customers in North America.
*************************
Originally Posted by beoliving
Eduardo, also coming up to the Cologne area this time?
The dealer in Bensberg has a beautiful Targa in Mamboo
or Bamboo (I guess you know the correct name of the
color...) green. And some other cool PTS colors.
Furthermore, 1st of Mai 2500 Porsche will meet here http://www.porschefreunde-1mai.de
(sorry German, but pictures speak for themselves I hope)
Unfortunately, I am not traveling on this trip to
the Köln area of Germany like I did on my last
trip in 2015. But I look forward to doing so on
another occassion. Perhaps we can meet in a
future trip there.
At the moment, we are in the beautiful villa of
Marchesi Alfieri in the Piemonte area of Italy.
It will be our base for a one-week, intimate
(12 persons) guided tour of local family wineries
(the principal varietal of this area is Nebbiolo -
from which they make the famous Barolo &
Barbaresco wines) & restaurants.
For the third time in as many visits to Zuffenhausen,
I have been well received by Dieter Landenberger,
Archive Manager for Porsche & Porsche Museum.
His official title is:
Leiter Historisches Archiv
Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG
Öffentlichkeitsarbeit und Presse
Porsche Museum und Historische Öffentlichkeitsarbeit
Dieter first gave my wife & I a peronalized tour of the
Porsche Museum restoration shop which all of you can
see behind the glass as you enter the first floor of the
structure (and in the back):
So this restoration shop is only for cars owned by the
Museum. Customer restorations are done at 'Porsche
Classic' which is located elsewhere in Stuttgart area.
*
One of the cars being restored expertly at the present
in this area is 'Porsche Number 57'. The story of how
#57 came to be discovered & purchased by PAG is not
well known to us in North America...but apparently most
Germans know about via a famous local TV program there.
This is how that restoration was proceeding as of 4/18.
The color, if any of you are wondering, is 'Polo Red',
which happened to be the hue of the first Porsche I
ever owned - a 1968 912 Soft-Rear Targa!
*
It was also interesting to see an old 356 Coupe I remember
seeing years ago (circa 1983) in California which is now owned
by the Museum. This was Gene Gilpin's 1956 A Coupe with
Rudge wheels.
Note the the spinners for German market were...wingless!
The deviation from norm was due to safety concerns FOR
PEDESTRIANS in the home market, even back in the mid-
1950's. As you might know, Porsche 356 Rudges for most
world markets had 'wings'...like one of Ben Hur's chariots
(a popular film of the era)! And this was a cause of concern
in Germany for TÜV.
In any case, Gene traded this restored 356 as you see it for
a well-used Porsche 'Guards Red' 911SC cabriolet, a test vehicle
that PAG had around just prior to re-introducing that model
in early 1980's.
In my opinion, this trade will go down in history as one of
the worse ever made!
In case any of you are wondering, the color of this 356A is
the very rare & seldom ordered 'Lago Green Metallic'.
*
After the tour of the restoration shop, Dieter brought us upstairs
to see the current exhibits at the Museum. We had time to see
the special Walter Röhrl exhibit:
I was particularly pleased to see the 924 Carrera GTR driven by
Walter Röhrl & my friend Jürgen Barth* at LeMans in 1981:
I thank Dieter for taking time from his busy schedule. And I wish
him the best at all future endeavors at the VW Group!
Saludos,
Eduardo
San Martino Alfiere
Piemonte, Italia
*Like in past years, I was invited by Jürgen to his house for
dinner. My wife & I were to join fellow 356 enthusiast ( &
known photographer) Hal Toms at Jürgen's home on 4/20.
Unfortunately we had to leave on the 19th to proceed to
Regensburg before flying off to Italy!
Great write up . Thanks. I went through there on my Honeymoon 25 years ago. I watched the 3.6 turbo motor being tested before factory was fully automated.
04-20-2017, 03:27 PM
