Porsche’s forthcoming rival for the Range Rover Evoque is set to start rolling off the line at an expanded Leipzig plant from ‘late 2013’, the Volkswagen subsidiary has announced.
In March 2011, Porsche revealed plans for an expansion of its Leipzig plant: the Macan would be built there from ‘2013’, it stated at that time.
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The SUV and sports car specialist maker is keen to lift its model range’s total annual build volume to 200,000 units by 2018; additional models such as this small crossover will be a major part of that.
The announcement made on 29 August concerning Macan production was included in information issued to the media on the topic of environmental initiatives being undertaken at the Leipzig works.
Porsche notes its use of a wood chip fired heating system – a biomass power plant, which will supply the new paint shop with heat from natural resources. The waste thermal energy emitted by a nearby wood chip fired heating plant will be used to supply 80% of the heat for the new paint shop. Further, an innovative separator system for paint mist is being built based on an electrostatic method. This, the company says, will keep the emission of solvents and fine dust during the painting process to a minimum.
Other initiatives include LED lighting for streets and carparks within the Leipzig manufacturing complex, photovoltaic cells for the body production plant, and reflective roof membranes that should prevent a build up of heat in the site’s production halls in the summer months.
The Leipzig works in Saxony assembles the Porsche Panamera and Cayenne models. Panamera bodies are made at Volkswagen’s van plant in Hanover, while the Cayenne’s body is manufactured at VW Group’s Bratislava plant in Slovakia. Both vehicles are then transported to Leipzig for final assembly.
Author: Glenn Brooks
