It was rumored yesterday, and this morning Porsche officially announced that it will build its highly anticipated four-door Panamera in Germany at its Leipzig Plant, where it currently produces the Cayenne model range and just completed the limited production run of the Carrera GT supercars. The news comes after several other major production announcements in the last two days, including the 2008 Lotus Esprit replacement and the 2008 Audi Q5 crossover.

While the engines of the Panamera will be built in Porsche’s main plant in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen, the Volkswagen Plant in Hanover will supply the painted bodies.

In anticipation of the Panamera, which is currently under development and is scheduled to enter the market in 2009 as Porsche’s first-ever premium-class four-door sports coupe, Porsche said it will expand the Leipzig production facility significantly. The plans involve construction of a new 269,000 square-foot Production Hall and the extension of the existing Assembly Hall with the addition of a Pilot and Analysis Center as well as a Workshop for Apprentice Training. A 323,000 square-foot Logistics Center will also be built in the direct vicinity of the new facility. Subject to formal building approval by local authorities, Porsche plans to begin construction to expand Leipzig this September.

The overall investment in new buildings and production facilities amounts to 120 million Euros.

In the words of Dr. Wendelin Wiedeking, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Porsche AG: “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 favor 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.” In Wiedeking’s words, the “Made in Germany” stamp of quality is also of particular significance to the Panamera: “Making this pledge to Germany as a center 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,” emphasizes Porsche’s President and CEO.

Again, Porsche is 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 characterizes our company,” states Porsche’s CEO in explaining the decision.

Commenting on the Hanover facility decision, Wiedeking said: “We have decided in favor of the Hanover Plant 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 paintshop in Hanover allows a wider range of colors than at other VW plants.” The Management and Works Council of the Hanover Plant, stated Wiedeking, agreed with Porsche that Hanover stood for top quality and maximum efficiency, and was therefore fully competitive and fit for the future. Porsche, he added, had already been able to verify these qualities in the past, with Porsche Consulting, the Company’s in-house consulting specialist, having supported and consulted Hanover in the introduction of lean production processes.

Like Porsche’s other models, the Panamera is a genuine Porsche product “Made in Germany,” with approximately 70 percent of the car’s overall assembled value to be domestic.

Production of Porsche’s four-seater Sports Coupe also benefits the labor market, with some 600 new jobs being created at Porsche Leipzig GmbH and another 600 with suppliers in the region. Recruitment of these new employees will start in 2008. At Porsche’s Plants in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen and Weissach the Panamera will not only help to secure existing jobs, but will also create approximately 400 new jobs by 2009. And at the VW Plant in Hanover, the assignment by Porsche means the long-term assurance of some 500 jobs.

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