This article is about the automotive brand and manufacturer, Porsche AG. For the holding company that is the majority owner of Volkswagen Group, seePorsche SE. For other uses of Porsche, seePorsche (disambiguation).
The origins of the company date to the 1930s when Czech-German automotive engineerFerdinand Porsche founded Porsche[5] withAdolf Rosenberger, a keystone figure in the creation of German automotive manufacturer andAudi precursorAuto Union,[6] andAustrian businessmanAnton Piëch, who was, at the time, also Ferdinand Porsche's son in law. In its early days, it was contracted by theGerman government to create a vehicle for the masses, which later became theVolkswagen Beetle.[7] AfterWorld War II, when Ferdinand, a member of both theNazi Party and theSS, would be arrested forwar crimes, his sonFerry Porsche, anSS volunteer, began building his own car, which would result in thePorsche 356.
In 2009, Porsche entered an agreement withVolkswagen to create an 'integrated working group' by merging the two companies' car manufacturing operations.[8][9] By 2015,Porsche SE, the holding company spun off from the original Porsche firm, had a controlling interest in theVolkswagen Group, which included Audi andLamborghini as subsidiaries.[10]
History
Origin
Ferdinand Porsche (1875–1951) founded the company called "Dr. Ing. h. c. F. PorscheGmbH"[5] withAdolf Rosenberger[11] andAnton Piëch in 1931.[12] The name is short for Ferdinand Porsche's full title in German, Doktor Ingenieur honoris causalit.'Doctor of Engineering, Honorary Degree' Ferdinand Porsche.[13] The main offices was at Kronenstraße 24 in the centre ofStuttgart.[14] Initially, the company offered motor vehicle development work and consulting,[5] but did not build any cars under its own name. One of the first assignments the new company received was from the German government to design a car for the people; that is, aVolkswagen.[5] This resulted in theVolkswagen Beetle, one of the most successful car designs of all time.[7] Later, thePorsche 64 would be developed in 1939 using many components from the Beetle.[5]
DuringWorld War II,[15]Volkswagen production turned to the military version of the Volkswagen Beetle, theKübelwagen,[15] 52,000 produced, andSchwimmwagen,[15] 15,584 produced.[16] Porsche produced several designs forheavy tanks during the war, losing out toHenschel & Son in both contracts that ultimately led to theTiger I and theTiger II. However, not all this work was wasted, as the chassis Porsche designed for the Tiger I was used as the base for theElefanttank destroyer. Porsche also developed theMaussuper-heavy tank in the closing stages of the war, producing two prototypes.[17] Ferdinand Porsche's biographer, Fabian Müller, wrote that Porsche had thousands of people forcibly brought to work at their factories during the war. The workers wore the letter "P" on their clothing at all times. It stood not for "Porsche", but for "Poland".[18]
At the end of World War II in 1945, theVolkswagen factory atKdF-Stadt fell to the British. Ferdinand lost his position as chairman of the board of management of Volkswagen, andIvan Hirst, a British Army major, was put in charge of the factory. (In Wolfsburg, the Volkswagen company magazine dubbed him "The British Major who saved Volkswagen".)[19] On 15 December of that year, Ferdinand was arrested for war crimes, but not tried. During his 20-month imprisonment, Ferdinand Porsche's son,Ferry Porsche, decided to build his own car, because he could not find an existing one that he wanted to buy. He also had to steer the company through some of its most difficult days until his father's release in August 1947.[20]
The first models of what was to become the356 were built in a small sawmill inGmünd, Austria.[20] The prototype car was shown to German auto dealers, and when pre-orders reached a set threshold, production (with aluminum body) was begun byPorsche Konstruktionen GesmbH, founded by Ferry andLouise. Many regard the 356 as the first Porsche simply because it was the first modelsold by the fledgling company. After production of the 356 was taken over by the father's Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche GmbH in Stuttgart in 1950, Porsche commissioned aZuffenhausen-based company, Reutter Karosserie, which had previously collaborated with the firm on Volkswagen Beetle prototypes, to produce the 356's steel body. In 1952, Porsche constructed an assembly plant (Werk 2) across the street from Reutter Karosserie; the main road in front of Werk 1, the oldest Porsche building, is now known as Porschestrasse.[21] The 356 was road-certified in 1948.
Württemberg-Baden and Württemberg-Hohenzollern both in 1952 became part of the present Bundesland ofBaden-Württemberg after the political consolidation ofWest Germany in 1949, but the old design of the arms of Württemberg lives on in the Porsche logo. On 30 January 1951, not long before the formation of Baden-Württemberg, Ferdinand Porsche died from complications following a stroke.
Developments
1952 Porsche 356 K/9-1 prototype
In post-war Germany, parts were generally in short supply, so the 356 automobile used components from the Volkswagen Beetle, including the engine case from itsinternal combustion engine,transmission, and several parts used in thesuspension. The 356, however, had several evolutionary stages, A, B, and C, while in production, and most Volkswagen-sourced parts were replaced by Porsche-made parts. Beginning in 1954 the 356s engines started utilizing engine cases designed specifically for the 356. The sleek bodywork was designed byErwin Komenda, who also had designed the body of the Beetle. Porsche's signature designs have, from the beginning, featured air-cooled rear-engine configurations (like the Beetle), rare for other car manufacturers, but producing automobiles that are very well balanced.
In 1964, after a fair amount of success inmotor-racing with various models including the550 Spyder, and with the 356 needing a major re-design, the company launched thePorsche 911: anotherair-cooled,rear-engined sports car, this time with a six-cylinder"boxer" engine. The team to lay out the body shell design was led by Ferry Porsche's eldest son,Ferdinand Alexander Porsche (F. A.). The design phase for the 911 caused internal problems with Erwin Komenda, who led the body design department until then. F. A. Porsche complained Komenda made unauthorized changes to the design. Company leader Ferry Porsche took his son's drawings to neighbouring chassis manufacturer Reuter. Reuter's workshop was later acquired by Porsche (so-called Werk 2). Afterward, Reuter became a seat manufacturer, today known asKeiper-Recaro.
The design office gave sequential numbers to every project (SeePorsche type numbers), but the designated 901 nomenclature contravenedPeugeot's trademarks on all 'x0x' names, so it was adjusted to 911. Racing models adhered to the "correct" numbering sequence: 904, 906, 908. The 911 has become Porsche's most well-known model – successful on the race-track, inrallies, and in terms of road car sales. It remains in production; however, after several generations of revision, current-model 911s share only the basic mechanical configuration of a rear-engined, six-cylindercoupé, and basic styling cues with the original car. A cost-reduced model with the same body, but with a 356-derived four-cylinder engine, was sold as the 912.
In 1972, the company's legal form was changed fromKommanditgesellschaft (KG), or limited partnership, toAktiengesellschaft (AG), or public limited company, because Ferry Porsche came to believe the scale of the company outgrew a "family operation", after learning aboutSoichiro Honda's "no family members in the company" policy atHonda. This led to the establishment of an executive board with members from outside the Porsche family, and a supervisory board consisting largely of family members. With this change, most family members in the operation of the company, including F. A. Porsche and Ferdinand Piëch, departed from the company.
F. A. Porsche founded his own design company,Porsche Design, which is renowned for exclusive sunglasses, watches, furniture, and many other luxury articles. Louise's son and Ferry's nephewFerdinand Piëch, who was responsible for mechanical development of Porsche's production and racing cars (including the very successful911,908 and917 models), formed his own engineering bureau, and developed afive-cylinder-inlinediesel engine forMercedes-Benz. A short time later he moved toAudi (used to be a division, then a subsidiary, of Volkswagen), and pursued his career through the entire company, ultimately becoming the chairman ofVolkswagen Group.
The first chief executive officer (CEO) of Porsche AG wasErnst Fuhrmann, who had been working in the company's engine development division. Fuhrmann was responsible for the so-called Fuhrmann-engine, used in the 356 Carrera models as well as the 550 Spyder, havingfour overhead camshafts instead of a central camshaft with pushrods, as in the Volkswagen-derived serial engines. He planned to cease the 911 during the 1970s and replace it with theV8-front engined grand sportswagon928. As we know today, the 911 outlived the 928 by far. Fuhrmann was replaced in the early 1980s byPeter W. Schutz, an American manager and self-proclaimed 911 aficionado. He was then replaced in 1988 by the former manager of German computer company Nixdorf Computer AG,Arno Bohn, who made some costly miscalculations that led to his dismissal soon after, along with that of the development director,Dr. Ulrich Bez, who was formerly responsible for BMW'sZ1 model, and was CEO ofAston Martin from 2000 to 2013.[22]
Porsche 911 (964), introduced in 1989, was the first to be offered with Porsche'sTiptronic transmission and four-wheel drive.
In 1990, Porsche drew up a memorandum of understanding withToyota to learn and benefit from Japaneselean manufacturing methods. In 2004 it was reported that Toyota was assisting Porsche withhybrid technology.[23]
Following the dismissal of Bohn,Heinz Branitzki, a longtime Porsche employee, was appointed as interim CEO. Branitzki served in that position untilWendelin Wiedeking became CEO in 1993. Wiedeking took over the chairmanship of the board at a time when Porsche appeared vulnerable to a takeover by a larger company. During his long tenure, Wiedeking transformed Porsche into a very efficient and profitable company.
Ferdinand Porsche's nephew, Ferdinand Piëch, was chairman and CEO of theVolkswagen Group from 1993 to 2002 and is chairman of the Volkswagen AG Supervisory Board since then. With 12.8 percent of the Porsche SE voting shares, he also remains the second-largest individual shareholder of Porsche SE after his cousin, F. A. Porsche, which had 13.6 percent.
Porsche's 2002 introduction of the Cayenne also marked the unveiling of a new production facility inLeipzig,Saxony, which once accounted for nearly half of Porsche's annual output. In 2004, production of the 456kilowatts (620 PS; 612 bhp)Carrera GT commenced in Leipzig, and at EUR 450,000 ($440,000 in the United States) it was the most expensive production model Porsche ever built.
Porsche 911 (991)
In mid-2006, after years of the Boxster (and later the Cayenne) as the best selling Porsche in North America, the 911 regained its position as Porsche's best-seller in the region. The Cayenne and 911 have cycled as the top-selling model since. In Germany, the 911 outsells the Boxster/Cayman and Cayenne.[24]
In May 2011, Porsche Cars North America announced plans to spend $80–$100 million, but will receive about $15 million in economic incentives to move their North American headquarters fromSandy Springs, a suburb ofAtlanta, toAerotropolis, Atlanta, a new mixed-use development on the site of the oldFord Hapeville plant adjacent toAtlanta's airport.[25] Designed by architectural firmHOK, the headquarters will include a new office building and test track.[26][27][28] The facility will be known by its new address, One Porsche Drive.
In October 2017, Porsche Cars North America announced the launch of Porsche Passport,[29] a new sportscar and SUV subscription program. This new offering allows consumers to access Porsche vehicles through subscribing to the service, rather than owning or leasing a vehicle. The Porsche Passport service was available initially inAtlanta,[30][31] and has become available in many major cities across the US.[32]
During theCOVID-19 pandemic, in March 2020, Porsche suspended its manufacturing in Europe for two weeks, "By taking this step, the sports car manufacturer is responding to the significant acceleration in the rate of infection caused by the coronavirus and the resultant measures implemented by the relevant authorities."[33]
The two companies collaborated in 1969 to make theVW-Porsche 914 and 914-6, whereby the 914-6 had a Porsche engine, and the 914 had a Volkswagen engine. Further collaboration in 1976 resulted in thePorsche 912E (US only) and thePorsche 924, which used many Audi components, and was built at Audi'sNeckarsulm factory, which had beenNSU's.Porsche 944s were also built there,[35] although they used far fewer Volkswagen components. The Cayenne, introduced in 2002, shares its chassis with theVolkswagen Touareg and theAudi Q7, which is built at theVolkswagen Group factory inBratislava,Slovakia.
Corporate restructuring
Porsche Design Tower, StuttgartA991 in front of the factory in which it was assembled, Porsche-Werk Stuttgart (right), and the manufacturer's central dealership, Porsche Zentrum Stuttgart (left)Porsche board membersOliver Blume, Detlev von Platen,Michael Steiner ...... Uwe-Karsten Städter, Albrecht Reimold and Andreas Haffner (left to right)
Porsche SE was created in June 2007 by renaming the old Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, and became a holding company for the families' stake in Porsche Zwischenholding GmbH (50.1%) (which in turn held 100% of the old Porsche AG) and Volkswagen AG (50.7%).[36][9] At the same time, the new Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG (Porsche AG) was created for the car manufacturing business.
In August 2009, Porsche SE andVolkswagen AG reached an agreement that the car manufacturing operations of the two companies would merge in 2011, to form an "Integrated Automotive Group".[8][37] The management of Volkswagen AG agreed to 50.76% of Volkswagen AG being owned by Porsche SE in return for Volkswagen AG management taking Porsche SE management positions (in order for Volkswagen management to remain in control), and for Volkswagen AG acquiring ownership of Porsche AG.
As of the end of 2015, the 52.2% control interest in VW AG is the predominant investment by Porsche SE, and Volkswagen AG in turn controls brands and companies such asVolkswagen,Audi,SEAT,Škoda,Bentley,Bugatti,Lamborghini, Porsche AG,Ducati, VW Commercial Vehicles,Scania,MAN, as well as Volkswagen Financial Services.[10]
In February 2022, Volkswagen AG had announced that it would examine the feasibility of a possibleIPO of Porsche AG.[44] Theshare capital of Porsche AG has been divided into 50%non-votingpreference shares and 50% ordinary shares.[44][4] Volkswagen AG will retain 75% of ordinary shares, whilePorsche SE will acquire 25% of ordinary shares. Volkswagen AG will also retain 75% of preference shares, while 25% of preference shares (12.5% of share capital) will be sold during IPO,[44] whileQatar Investment Authority has already committed to buy 4.99% of preference shares, leaving another 20.01% (10% of share capital), to other investors.[4] As part of the preliminary offering, 113,875 thousand shares were sold at the upper limit of the price range - 82.5 euros. Thus, the value of the company was estimated at 75 billion euros. In the first hours of trading on theFrankfurt stock exchange on 29 September, the share price rose to 84 euros.[45]
In April 2022, Porsche Australia announced they are planning to open an efuel manufacturing facility in the island state ofTasmania. The plant will be the first of its type in the country. The facility is to be named theHIF (Highly Innovative Fuels) Tasmania Carbon Neutral eFuel Plant. It is slated to open in 2026.[46]
Production and sales
The headquarters and main factory are located in Zuffenhausen, a district inStuttgart, where Porsche produces flat-6 and V8 piston engines.[47] Cayenne and Panamera models are manufactured inLeipzig, Germany, and parts for the SUV are also assembled in theVolkswagen Touareg factory inBratislava, Slovakia.[48] Boxster and Cayman production was outsourced toValmet Automotive in Finland from 1997 to 2011, and in 2012 production moved to Germany.[49] Since 2011, the area of the Zuffenhausen plant has more than doubled, from 284,000 m2 (28.4 ha) to 614,000 m2 (61.4 ha), as a result of purchasing the former Layher, Deltona and Daimler sites, among others.[50][51]
In 2015, Porsche reported selling a total of 218,983 cars, 28,953 (13.22%) as domestic German sales, and 190,030 (86.78%) internationally.[52]
The company has been highly successful in recent times, and indeed claims to have the highest profit per unit sold of any car company in the world.[53] Table of profits (in millions of euros) and number of cars produced. Figures from 2008/9 onwards were not reported as part of Porsche SE.[54]
On 11 May 2017, Porsche built the one-millionth 911. An Irish green Carrera S was built for the celebration, and it will be taken on a global tour before becoming a permanent exhibit at thePorsche Museum in Stuttgart.[55]
In August 2021, Porsche has confirmed that it will be setting up a production plant in Malaysia, the first country outside of Europe.[57] Local assembly will be handled by Porsche Malaysia's partner, Sime Darby, which has been the official distributor of the Stuttgart-based company in Malaysia since 2010.
Of the 246,375 cars produced in the 2017 financial year, 32,197 were 911 models, 25,114 were Boxster and Cayman cars, 63,913 were Cayennes, 27,942 were Panameras and 97,202 were Macans.[65]
Of the 268,691 cars produced in 2018, 36,236 were 911 models, 23,658 were 718 Boxster and Cayman cars, 79,111 were Cayennes, 35,493 were Panameras, 93,953 were Macans and 240 Taycan pre-series vehicles.[66]
Of the 272,162 cars produced in 2020, 34,328 were 911 models, 21,784 were 718 Boxster and Cayman cars, 92,860 were Cayennes, 20,015 Taycan vehicles.[67]
Of the 321,321 vehicles produced in 2022, 41,947 were 911 models,18,080 were 718 Boxster/Cayman models, 91,117 were Macans, 98,113 were Cayennes, 35,241 were Panameras and 36,823 were Taycan models.[68]
For details on a Porsche 911-based all-electric car, seeERuf Model A.
In 2010, Porsche launched theCayenne S Hybrid and announced thePanamera S Hybrid, and launched thePorsche 918 sports car in 2014, which also features a hybrid system. Also a plug-in hybrid model called thePanamera S E-Hybrid was released in October 2013 in the United States[91][92] and during the fourth quarter of 2013 in several European countries.
In July 2014, Porsche announced the launch by the end of 2014 of thePorsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid aplug-in hybrid, which will displace the Cayenne S Hybrid from the lineup. The S E-Hybrid will be the first plug-in hybrid in the premiumSUV segment and will allow Porsche to become the first automaker with three production plug-in hybrid models.[95]
In July 2017, Porsche installed its first 350 kW, 800V charging station, which the upcomingPorsche Mission E will use. As of 2017, the Porsche charging station is the fastest electric vehicle charging station in the world, being able to charge a Porsche Mission E up to 80% within 15 minutes. Porsche is also currently working with other manufacturers to make Porsche charging stations compatible with other electric vehicles.[96]
In August 2018, Porsche announced that the formerly namedMission E electric car would be named "Taycan" meaning 'leaping horse'.[97] The prototype electric car was expected to be revealed in 2019 after its completion.[98] Porsche Taycan went on sale in 2020.
In 2021, Porsche released an electric Mountain Bike in partnership withRotwilde, with features such as an integrated cockpit designed byMagura GmbH and drive unit, drivetrain and electronic shifting designed byShimano.[99] Porsche followed this by completely buying eBike motor and battery company Fazua in 2022[100] and sports bikes company Greyp Bikes, sister company ofRimac Automobili, in 2023. Greyp Bikes was renamed to Porsche eBike Performance GmbH.[101]
TheMartini Racing blue and green "psychedelic" livery on a 1970 917K. This car raced atWatkins Glen in 1970.
Porsche has a record 19 outright wins at the24 Hours of Le Mans.[102] Porsche is currently the world's largest race car manufacturer. In 2006, Porsche built 195 race cars for various international motor sports events. In 2007, Porsche was expected to construct no fewer than 275 dedicated race cars (7 RS Spyder LMP2 prototypes, 37 GT2 spec 911 GT3-RSRs, and 231 911 GT3 Cup vehicles).[103]
In a survey conducted by theLuxury Institute in New York, Porsche was awarded the title of "the most prestigious automobile brand". Five hundred households with a gross annual income of at least $200,000 and a net worth of at least $720,000 participated.[105]
Porsche's 911 has been officially named by theTÜV (Technischer Überwachungsverein; Technical Inspection Association) as Germany's most reliable car.[112]
^Mantle, Jonathan (1996).Car wars: fifty years of greed, treachery, and skulduggery in the global marketplace.Arcade Publishing. p. 216.ISBN978-1-55970-333-8.
^abMeredith, Laurence; Mark Hughes (1995).Original Porsche 356. MotorBooks/MBI Publishing Company. p. 7.ISBN978-1-870979-58-0.
^Nexteer Automotive Poland president Rafal Wyszomirski."Just auto 23 November 2004". Just-auto.com. Archived fromthe original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved1 August 2011.
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