October - December

Ground-breaking ceremony in Leipzig: Porsche extends production siteSaxony location gears up with 500 million investment for Cajun production

Stuttgart/Leipzig. The Chairman of the Supervisory Board and Chairman of the Board of Management of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Wolfgang Porsche and Matthias Müller today joined numerous guests from the world of politics and business in laying the foundation stone for the second extension of the Leipzig site. It is an important milestone, which writes another chapter in the successful history of Porsche’s Saxony site. “We are investing another 500 million euro in the production facility to build the Cajun in Leipzig. This is not just a mark of confidence in the manufacturing skills of our Leipzig colleagues but also an important contribution to the economic development of the region.” said Matthias Müller on the morning of the festivities.

Porsche Board of Management member with responsibility for production Wolfgang Leimgruber added: “We want to expand the production of high-performance sports cars and off-road vehicles in Leipzig. At the same time the ambition is for the plant to achieve the highest standards with a forward-looking quality strategy.” More than 1,000 new jobs and a new 17 hectare production site are being created to handle the production of the Cajun. “The fact that the assembly plant is now to become a fully fledged factory with body assembly line and paint shop is an enormous motivation for me and my team,” explained Siegfried Bülow, Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche Leipzig GmbH, citing as a challenge the tough timetable governing the plant extension, with production of the Cajun scheduled to start as early as the end of 2013. “The acquisition and qualification of new staff is also an important item on our agenda. We are trusting in tried-and-tested processes, thus ensuring that the first Cajun from Leipzig is of outstanding “typical Porsche” quality, setting standards in its class,” Bülow said.

Porsche’s Leipzig plant is also setting environmental standards, being one of the world’s most efficient car factories. For example, the very efficient air recirculation and power cut-off technologies in the paint shop ensure particularly economical energy use. “Sustainability of the very highest order is enshrined in our environmental principles. Our use of ultra-modern equipment and facilities is a valuable contribution to frugal automotive engineering,” said Porsche Board of Management member with responsibility for production Wolfgang Leimgruber.

Leipzig Lord Mayor Burkhard Jung also emphasised the impressive development of the site: “Porsche’s decision in 1999 to build a plant in our city brought the industrial site to life with a kiss. Porsche was followed by many important business start-ups, putting Leipzig in the fast lane. 10 years and more than 420,000 “Made in Leipzig” Porsches later, this industrial site has finally come of age.”

Porsche’s site in Saxony has been producing the Cayenne since it opened in 2002. After a first extension, the four-seater Gran Turismo Panamera was produced here as well. It is assembled alongside the sporty off-road vehicle on the mixed-model assembly line. Porsche has invested approximately 280 million euro in the Leipzig site to date.

Porsche is expanding its globally very popular SUV segment with the efficient and agile “Cajun”. The light and handy, typically Porsche “Cajun” will inject fresh momentum alongside the new generation Cayenne, which has managed to consolidate its market position as one of the most successful off-road vehicles in the premium segment to a significant degree. As an attractive model, it is intended – alongside the Boxster as the market-leading, two-seater, mid-engine sports car – to provide new, even younger customers with an entrée to the world of Porsche.

18.10.2011