Porsche Is Deciding On A New Location For A Production Plant Outside Of Germany- It's USA vs. China!

April 1, 2011 - PRLog -- Part of Porsche's appeal has always been its tried and true German heritage and engineering. Porsche buyers know that they could drive another brand for less money, and they also know that they wouldn’t get the same speed, precision, handling or prestige of a machine like the 911. An exciting part of the Porsche experience, at least for those who buy new cars, is paying the entry price to be in command of a Porsche. Your Porsche. Is it expensive? Of course it is, but taking into consideration that the car was built by dedicated German craftsmen- obsessed with every detail of its construction, helps ease the sting for most. The well-known term "You get what you pay for" comes to mind...

Porsche CEO Matthias Mueller has dreams of expansion, and plans on doubling Porsche's global sales in selling a whopping 200,000 vehicles per year. He doesn't plan on achieving that overnight, setting his sights a hefty seven years down the road in 2018, but he knows that some changes need to be made if they're to reach this exuberant goal. Changes like adding new production plants are a clear and good start, but now the only problem is where to build them if not Germany? Asia or North America? A source tells us that Porsche is seriously considering building its new upcoming compact SUV, the Porsche Cajun, at a Volkswagen plant in China, which currently builds the Audi Q5. Aside from China, the Q5 is also manufactured in Ingolstadt, Germany; Bratislava, Slovakia and Maharashtra, India.

Now, to be fair to their loyal following and themselves, Porsche probably won’t outsource the delicate assembly of the 911. The first model projected to be built outside of Germany will be the upcoming Cajun compact SUV.  However, the Cajun isn't expected to be released until mid/late 2013 or 2014. Porsche is also rumored to be working away on an entry-level roadster, which will be built on a platform shared with Volkswagen and Audi, and shaving off some production costs on a "price-point" built car is critical.

Porsche’s CEO, Mueller, sees the whole controversy as a "non"-issue, saying “The main thing is that the car has ‘Engineered by Porsche’ on it. Where it is produced is no longer so important,” to a German publication. On a strong side note - in the other direction - most owners of the Volkswagen's that were built in Mexico and Brazil; when compared to their German-assembled counterparts, couldn't hold their own. The Brazilian and Mexican models both reportedly had more problems and, sadly, a decidedly lower build quality. Now the question is: can we expect a Porsche that is manufactured in China to still uphold the same promise of quality as Porsche’s that were built in Zuffenhausen or Leipzig? We will probably find that out the hard way.

Assuming that there will be no difference in cost between a Porsche built in Germany and one built in China, would you be willing to buy a Chinese built Porsche? Would it matter what model it was? Could Mueller be correct, in saying that customers will just sit back quietly with no concerns of as to where the car is built as long as it’s still fully designed in Germany? Well, if you take into consideration how enthusiasts dealt with the production of an SUV when the Cayenne was released - oh the humanity! - then it's probably safe to say that this "little" change won't sit very well.

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