user 83838290

...

deilenberger

Afraid you must register to read the article. From the brief glimpse it appears they'll be building the entire vehicle there instead of just the body/driveline as they have in the past (in the VW factory along side the Tourag)..

Buckfever

Please delete post

user 83838290

...

Andy E.

This is not entirely true. The early Boxsters were entirely assembled at Valmet's assembly plant in Finland; the same plant that used to put together the now defunct Fisker automobile.

On all Porsche vehicles to date, including the early 924/944 series that were assembled in Audi's Neckarsulm's assembly plant, all engines (excluding the Audi 4-cylinder unit in the early 924) were always mfd in Stuttgart and shipped to the corresponding vehicle assembly plant. One wonder's if the Cayenne's V8 will also be assembled in Bratislava.....

visitador

...excluding the Audi sourced V6 TDI too.

I think the V8 will continue to be manufactured in Germany. In the end, it seems the VW is trying to milk the Porsche brand as much as it can. From a profits point of view, I can see why VW wants to move all Cayenne production form Leipzig (so that it can make more Macans). However, that kind of destroys the original idea of making customers think that the Cayennes are German made vehicles. I know that the Boxsters, as you pointed out, were made in Finland. I owned one of them and the quality was superb. However, the Boxster is not (relatively speaking) as expensive as the other Porsche products.

Anyway, I bet it VW is thinking that customers may no longer differentiate between German made and non-German made vehicles. Maybe they are trying to expand the "German engineering" logo to Porsche too? But German engineering does not always equal German quality, as some made in foreign country VW owners have found out. I wonder what may happen if Porsche ever says: "oh, we'll also move manufacturing of some 911s to a foreign country."

endless_corners

It's a slippery slope for sure.

blackland

BMW made my old X5 is South Carolina, it was still a nice vehicle. I can see them trying to save on labour costs, however, if the quality declines they will lose more than they gain.

Andy E.

As much as we've all knocked North American car mfg quality in the past, the fact is that today, we do make a great product on our side of the pond. Proof is in the end product with Mercedes ML/GL production in Tuscaloosa,AL and with BMW's various model offerings mfd in Spartansburg, SC.

On the other hand, most of the American-made SUV's are mfd in Silao,Mexico where quality control is lacking in a big way. Couple the exorbitantly high selling price of a new Suburban or Escalade together with cheap labor costs and the result is extremely high margins.

Leipzig is the old eastern part of Germany where the labor rates were always lower than those in the western parts. This made much sense for Porsche, BMW & Mercedes to set-up assembly plants in this city while taking advantage of tax breaks and lower labor rates. As labor unions have always been very strong in Germany, I would assume that this trend may be changing; hence their decision to move production to another country.

The Cayenne has always been PAG's bread winner from day one. While Bratislava's build quality is exceptional, the question is whether or not a "Made in Slovakia" label will affect future sales of this popular model? Only time will tell...

Sum1Dial911

I hope i dont sound rediculous saying this, but I would never buy a Porsche that wasn't made and assembled in Germany. This is the reason I didn't buy an X5. IMO, Porsche should be a 100% German made, especially when your paying good money for one. I know lots of people don't mind, but I do.

Regards
Sam

user 83838290

...

Andy E.

Having visited the factory in Stuttgart, I can personally attest to the fact that the majority of the employees working on the assembly line are not of German descent. With the exception of key assembly items such as engine block machining/assembly, drivetrain "marriage" with body shell as well as several other managerial supervisors and foremen, the majority of the employees are of Greek & Turkish descent.

Made in Germany but......

CaptJim

Ford's are made all over the world, Toyota's are made in the USA. This is a Global Economy and this is bound to happen, especially with the VW Merger or take over, whatever that was.

visitador

Does that means I expect a discount from Porsche on my next purchase? They are trying to be cheap. So should I, right?

dasams

And consolidating Panamera construction in Leipzig...