After some initial in-fighting, Volkswagen has announced that Porsche, not Audi, will take the lead on the group’s future sports car and large luxury sedan offerings. Porsche and Audi have been bickering over which division should take the lead on such projects for the last several months.
The news was reportedly handed down by Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn just before the automaker’s November 30 annual meeting. Porsche joins VW as the group’s 10th automotive brand.
The announcement ensures that Porsche will design the firm’s next-generation “modular standard matrix” platform. That platform is expected to underpin the next Porsche Panamera – which has apparently been green lighted for a second go-around – as well as future Bentley models. Also as part of the deal, Porsche will develop front-mid and rear-mid engine vehicles for Porsche, Audi and Lamborghini.
Audi, meanwhile, will remain in charge of VW’s “modular longitudinal matrix” architecture. First introduced in 2007, the modular longitudinal matrix underpins the Audi A4, A5 and Q5, and will eventually serve as the basis for 15 different vehicles.
The announcement is intended to save VW development time and money, helping the German automaker with its push to unseat Toyota as the world’s largest automaker.
References
1.’Porsche wins internal…’ view
