19 Sept 2012

Porsche Boxsters now made on VW production line

First the first time in 37 years Porsche cars are being made on Volkswagen production lines at VWs plant in Osnabrück, Lower Saxony.

Porsche have been making 911s and Boxsters in a 'mixed model operation' at the Porsche factory in Stuttgart but have recently found themselves unable to fulfil demand for the new Boxster.

But with VW's recent £3.6bn takeover of Porsche (see here) the two companies were able to solve that problem by moving production of Boxsters to Osnabrück.

Porsche President and CEO, Mattius Müller, said: “Due to the way things are in Stuttgart there is no easy way to expand our main factory. Over the next few years, we will be fully utilising our own production capacity predominantly with the 911 model. We therefore looked for a partner for producing the Boxster. The decisive factor in our choice was the great expertise of the workforce at Volkswagen
Osnabrück. Our sports cars are in very good hands there. After all, we all have the same concept of quality. Osnabrück will become a part of our success story.”

Porsche and Volkswagen have a long history going back to the 1930s when Ferdinand Porsche designed the first Beetle. Bodies for the Porsche 356 coupe in the 1960s and the 968 in the 1990s were also made by Volkswagen for Porsche. The 914s were fully assembled by VW engineers in Osnabrück from 1969 to 1975.

The Stuttgart factory is some 240 miles south of Osnabrück.