Porsche on Friday confirmed it would build the four-door Panamera at its Leipzig plant using painted bodies supplied by VW’s Hanover factory.
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To build the Panamera, which is currently under development and is scheduled to go on sale in 2009, Porsche will expand the plant significantly, including construction of a new production hall with an area of approximately 25,000 square metres or 269,000 square feet.
It will also extend the existing assembly hall by adding a pilot and analysis centre as well as an apprentice training workshop.
A logistics centre covering an overall area of 30,000 square metres or 323,000 square feet will also be built close to the new assembly hall. Subject to approval by the authorities, construction is scheduled to start this September.
The overall investment in new buildings and production facilities is EUR120m.
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By GlobalDataPorsche president and CEO Wendelin Wiedeking said: “Right from the beginning in the production of the Cayenne and the Carrera GT, our Leipzig plant has proven impressively that it is in a position to build premium cars of the highest quality.
“So taking this decision in favour of Leipzig is a clear sign of confidence in the skills and abilities of our workforce at the plant, and at the same time a further contribution to the economic development of the new states of Germany in the east.”
Wiedeking’s said the “Made in Germany” stamp of quality is also of particular significance to the Panamera: “Making this pledge to Germany as a centre of industry, we are enhancing the inherent value of our sports cars – and at the same time we are meeting the expectations of our customers.”
Porsche is again waiving its entitlement to subsidies: “The success of our Cayenne sports utility vehicle proves that we do not have to use public money in order to build our cars. Rather, what counts in our case is to build the car economically in a well-conceived production concept and with the high standard of quality that characterises our company”, Wiedeking said.
Panamera engines will be made in Porsche’s main plant in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen, and the Volkswagen plant in Hanover will supply painted bodies.
Wiedeking said: “We have decided in favour of Hanover because it is one of the most modern plants within the entire Volkswagen group and is in a position to build the body of the car with the premium quality we require. A further advantage is that the paint shop in Hanover allows a wider range of colours than at other VW plants.”
In total, the degree of in-house production of the Panamera in Porsche’s own plants is 15%, with the painted body accounting for 6% of the car’s entire value. But since the company cooperates largely with German suppliers, approximately 70% of the car’s value creation will be in Germany.
Production of the new four-seater sports coupé will create about 600 new jobs at Porsche’s Leipzig plant and another 600 with suppliers in the region. Recruitment will start in 2008. There will also be about 400 new jobs at plants in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen and Weissach. The contract also assures 500 jobs at VW Hanover.
Porsche has also reached agreement with its works councils and the IG Metall union to extend the company collective pay agreement at Leipzig for an additional five years.
