Porsche today announced it will increase its stake in Volkswagen from 31 percent to over 50 percent, making it the majority owner of Volkswagen. Wendelin Wiedeking, CEO of Porsche, said the goal is not to merge the companies, but instead to create “one of the strongest and most innovative automobile alliances in the world.”
Over the last few years, Porsche has slowly increased its stake in Volkswagen, and increased cooperation at the same time. Porsche’s investment of an additional $15 billion will bring its share to over 50 percent, dwarfing the 20 percent stake held by the German state of Lower Saxony.
Porsche already has full approval from its supervisory board to make the move, meaning the only remaining hurdle is regulator approval. “The reviews by the regulatory authorities are expected to take several months. As soon as the requisite clearances have been obtained, Porsche SE can acquire the majority of the shares in Volkswagen,” the company said in a statement.



03/03, 10:19 AM
posted by:
SoLoveLA
So the Nazis finally get back their creation.
03/03, 10:19 AM
posted by:
sunshine1810
Almost 20 years ago Porsche almost went bankrupt. Now they are acquiring one of the biggest auto giants in the world. I’m not sure what Porsche will get out of the deal but VW is in dire need of reliable (more reliable) service and parts. Let’s hope this move will result in VW’s that don’t break (that much) and perform well.
03/03, 10:32 AM
posted by:
edgeguy
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA SoLoveLA
I also agree with Sunshine1810. Maybe the new takeover will help improve VW’s notorious reputation for **** build quality.
03/03, 10:52 AM
posted by:
Syrax
the **** build quality is from usa’s mexico plant. and the **** we have here in brazil. i had a german vr6 corrado, and it was an engineering dream. the same time in brazil they had the Gol GTS (the brazilian Lupo). fast, but really ****ty. now, they launched a Mk4.5 Golf (yes, 4.5, we don’t have the Mk5, and they face lifted, and horrendously butt lifted the Mk4 to hold till the Mk6).
03/03, 10:59 AM
posted by:
BlackX
Im really surprised that company like Porsche can afford to overtake VW. Looks promising.
03/03, 11:04 AM
posted by:
Syrax
>>i’m seeing the bmw ad on this side of LLN and you can clearly see the pig it became.>>
03/03, 11:04 AM
posted by:
Syrax
^^the m3 i mean.
03/03, 11:16 AM
posted by:
global_lightning
And to celebrate, the will build a special conmemorative run of the 914/6!
03/03, 11:17 AM
posted by:
A4
i hate porsche, douchebags
wave bye bye to anything that might steal sales from the 911.
03/03, 11:20 AM
posted by:
LexusSoarer
Wonder if they’ll quickly call off the R8 then.
03/03, 11:22 AM
posted by:
Siggistef
Do a little research before you start throwing around irrelevant and stupid comments about something you know nothing about.
This isn’t about what Prosche can bring to VW but what Prosche actually needs. With the new CO2 regulations Porsche falls way behind. Averaging 282 g/km today with the mark of 130 g/km before 2012. By 2012 those that fail will face a penalty of 30$ per g/km over the agreed average for every vehicle sold, rising to 140$ but 2015. Porsche need fuel saving and emmission technologies. Instead of spending money on researching and developing new technologies they increase their stake in VW and take over it giving them access to those exact things they need.
03/03, 11:23 AM
posted by:
johnnycanuck
All this tells me is that for Porsche to have this kind of finacial clout their vehicles are way overpriced.
03/03, 11:25 AM
posted by:
johnnycanuck
…financial
03/03, 11:50 AM
posted by:
Rotman
@ Comment by johnnycanuck, posted on March3 at 11:23 am
Or they’re just very good at doing business, which to my understanding extends to more than just selling cars. Wouldn’t mind to own to some 90’s bought Porsche stock now….
03/03, 11:53 AM
posted by:
Jazz
Nail on the head Siggistef.
03/03, 12:05 PM
posted by:
Rotman
NB: LLN can you please add a target=”_Blank” to your links? Thank you.
03/03, 12:09 PM
posted by:
C6Racer
I always thought VW partially owned Porsche because of the Cayenne sharing platforms with the Touareg and Q7. Well, I guess I thought wrong.
03/03, 1:39 PM
posted by:
SwerveEarly
Air cooled is back.
03/03, 1:42 PM
posted by:
Stridder44
I don’t see how this could be bad, so…good to hear!
03/03, 1:44 PM
posted by:
Scarface03
C6Racer: Porsche has long been a significant shareholder in VW stock, but a law in the state where VW was incorporated prevented any stockholder from having more than 20% voting rights, regardless of the shares they owned. Porsche has been holding back on acquiring more until they could get that law stricken. If memory serves, the German courts have stricken that law.
So Porsche is in the the clear to acquire VW. Siggistef is right in that Porsche’s acquisition of VW has many business motives. Emissions and CAFE laws are big.
Also, I see the tech transfer to mostly benefit Porsche in the near-term. Porsche has had problems with its dual clutch transmission, for example, but VW has its dual-clutch on the market for a while now (imagine a Veyron transmission in a 911 Turbo).
Neither are real leaders in hybrid tech, so that’ll be interesting.
I don’t see the merger as being the end of the R8, it’s just the beginning of the possiblities. Audi’s R4 in the pipeline will likely share chassis and bits with the Boxster. The key will be to make the models different–the Cayenne/Touareg success is an example. Once they do that, costs will just be saved.
Motorsports will be interesting. I know that Porsche and Audi have a quite the rivalry in the Le Mans series, even though their prototypes compete in different classes.
03/03, 1:46 PM
posted by:
MikeFX
You can all thank the Cayenne for this transaction.
03/03, 4:09 PM
posted by:
audi-lover
since when does one car company invest in another?
03/03, 5:00 PM
posted by:
RLC
Wait, so that ridiculous Cayenne is forcing Porsche to buy Volkswagen in order to improve corporate fuel economy? Out of the frying pan and into the fire, if you ask me.
03/03, 6:56 PM
posted by:
400horseSS
The only problem i see is Porsche having to pick out 1 front end to put on all VW’s, seriously can anybody tell the difference between Porches.
03/03, 8:05 PM
posted by:
Siggistef
@RLC. No it is not because of the Cayenne. It is because Porsche doesn’t have any smaller vehicles to level it out. With the new laws car can still go over 130 g/km but they have to have lower emmission vehicles to level them out. Porsche has never really been bothered to research emmission and fuel saving technology but since the laws are valid for any car maker with over 10.000 yearly sales (Porsches was 39.064) they have to comply.
@400horseSS. To answer your question. Yes, anyone who knows anything about Porsche can spot the difference, which obviously rules you out.
03/03, 8:47 PM
posted by:
400horseSS
Well excuuuuuuuse me Sigistef, the ? should’ve been why do their cars, trucks look the same.
03/03, 10:18 PM
posted by:
AxeHead
Ever since Tom Cruise said “Porsche, there is no subtitute” in Risky Business they’ve been successful.
03/04, 5:14 AM
posted by:
Siggistef
@ 400horseSS, simply because it works. It is a classic look which is still popular today. Why change something that has worked so well for them the past years?
03/04, 7:08 AM
posted by:
SRT-4Ken
================>>@ 400horseSS: becuause all porsche’s cars are porsches!! DUUHHH its a classic look that works. y would they make one car *resemble* the 911 and the cayenne resemble a honda? DUUHH
03/04, 7:09 AM
posted by:
SRT-4Ken
==========>>@400horseSS: i wouldn’t want my boxter looking like anything else on the road but a porsche….DUHHH
03/04, 8:26 AM
posted by:
stick2clutch
As a Porsche employee I can say a few things. Porsche is making a lot more money from activities other than selling cars. And yes the Cayenne was what catapulted it. But Porsche earned a lot from the 31 percent stake it holds on VW at the time. But the bulk of the money (3.59 Billion Euros (Pre-tax)) came from derivative trading. Even more than from selling cars. Porsche is a sleeping giant. Trust me when I say this.
In short, Dr Wiedeking has expressed he plans to go head to head with Toyota. VW is his weapon.
As for this deal. Yeah baby!! Go employee pricing!
03/04, 1:38 PM
posted by:
Scarface03
stick2clutch,
What do you do for Porsche? Are you Porsche N.A.? in Germany?
I think your analysis is right on. Porsche for a long time has been all about doing the right things in the automotive world.
03/04, 9:24 PM
posted by:
deutschetouring1337
Companies behind Porsche:ABN Amro, Barclays Capital, Merrill Lynch, Commerzbank and UBS.
Look up which ones are being hit with the SP-Mort debacle which is far from over.