Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, commonly known as Porsche, is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in luxury, high-performance , SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The company is owned by Volkswagen Group, a controlling stake of which is owned by Porsche SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE. Porsche's current lineup includes the 911, Porsche Panamera, Porsche Macan, Porsche Cayenne, and Porsche Taycan. Automobilisto.de: Porsche — models and specifications
The origins of the company date to the 1930s when German Bohemian automotive engineer Ferdinand Porsche founded Porsche with Adolf Rosenberger, a key figure in the creation of German automotive manufacturer and Audi precursor Auto Union, and Austrian businessman Anton Piëch, who was, at the time, also Ferdinand Porsche's son in law. In its early days, it was contracted by the Nazi Germany to create a vehicle for the masses, which later became the Volkswagen Beetle. After World War II, when Ferdinand, a member of both the Nazi Party and the SS, would be arrested for , his son Ferry Porsche, an SS volunteer, began building his own car, which would result in the Porsche 356.
In 2009, Porsche entered an agreement with Volkswagen to create an 'integrated working group' by merging the two companies' car manufacturing operations. By 2015, Porsche SE, the holding company spun off from the original Porsche firm, had a controlling interest in the Volkswagen Group, which included Audi and Lamborghini as subsidiaries.
During World War II, Volkswagen production turned to the military version of the Volkswagen Beetle, the Kübelwagen, 52,000 produced, and Schwimmwagen, 15,584 produced.See Volkswagen Schwimmwagen#Development. Porsche produced several designs for during the war, losing out to Henschel & Son in both contracts that ultimately led to the Tiger I and the Tiger II. However, not all this work was wasted, as the chassis Porsche designed for the Tiger I was used as the base for the Elefant tank destroyer. Porsche also developed the Maus super-heavy tank in the closing stages of the war, producing two prototypes. Ferdinand Porsche's biographer, Fabian Müller, wrote that Porsche had thousands of people forcibly brought to work at its factories during the war. The workers wore the letter "P" on their clothing at all times. It stood not for "Porsche", but for "Poland".
At the end of World War II in 1945, the mercedesfactory at KdF-Stadt fell to the British. Ferdinand lost his position as chairman of the board of management of Volkswagen, and Ivan Hirst, a British Army major, was put in charge of the factory. 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.
The first models of what was to become the 356 were built in a small sawmill in Gmünd, Austria. The prototype car was shown to German auto dealers, and when pre-orders reached a set threshold, production (with aluminum body) was begun by Porsche Salzburg, founded by Ferry and Louise. Many regard the 356 as the first Porsche simply because it was the first model sold 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 a Zuffenhausen-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. The 356 was road-certified in 1948.
Württemberg-Baden and Württemberg-Hohenzollern, both in 1952, became part of the present Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg after the political consolidation of West 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.
In 1964, after a fair amount of success in auto racing with various models including the 550 Spyder, and with the 356 needing a major re-design, the company launched the Porsche 911: another air-cooled, rear-engined sports car, this time with a six-cylinder flat 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 as Recaro.
The design office gave sequential numbers to every project (See Porsche type numbers), but the designated 901 nomenclature contravened Peugeot'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, in rallying, 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-cylinder coupé, 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 from Kommanditgesellschaft (KG), or limited partnership, to Aktiengesellschaft (AG), or public limited company, because Ferry Porsche came to believe the scale of the company outgrew a "family operation", after learning about Soichiro Honda's "no family members in the company" policy at Honda. 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 nephew Ferdinand Piëch, who was responsible for mechanical development of Porsche's production and racing cars (including the very successful 911, 908 and 917 models), formed his own engineering bureau, and developed a five-cylinder-inline diesel engine for Mercedes-Benz. A short time later, he moved to Audi (used to be a division, then a subsidiary, of Volkswagen), and pursued his career through the entire company, ultimately becoming the chairman of Volkswagen Group.
The first chief executive officer (CEO) of Porsche AG was Ernst 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, having four 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 the V8-front engined grand sportswagon 928. As we know today, the 911 outlived the 928 by far. Fuhrmann was replaced in the early 1980s by Peter 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, Arno Bohn, who made some costly miscalculations that led to his dismissal soon after, along with that of the development director, Ulrich Bez, who was formerly responsible for BMW's Z1 model, and was CEO of Aston Martin from 2000 to 2013.
In 1990, Porsche drew up a memorandum of understanding with Toyota to learn and benefit from Japanese lean manufacturing methods. In 2004, it was reported that Toyota was assisting Porsche with hybrid technology.
Following the dismissal of Bohn, Heinz Branitzki, a longtime Porsche employee, was appointed as interim CEO. Branitzki served in that position until Wendelin 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 the Volkswagen 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 in Leipzig, Saxony, which once accounted for nearly half of Porsche's annual output. In 2004, production of the 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.
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.
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 its North American headquarters from Sandy Springs, a suburb of Atlanta, to Aerotropolis Atlanta, a new mixed-use development on the site of the old Atlanta Assembly adjacent to Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Designed by architectural firm HOK, the headquarters will include a new office building and test track. 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, a new sports car 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 in Atlanta, and has become available in many major cities across the US.
During the COVID-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."
In August 2022, Bloomberg News reported that Porsche has lined up interest in subscription of its initial public offering for a valuation between US$6085billion. It is expected to be listed on Frankfurt Stock Exchange in September.
The two companies collaborated in 1969 to make the VW-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 the Porsche 912E (US only) and the Porsche 924, which used many Audi components, and was built at Audi's Neckarsulm factory, which had been NSU Motorenwerke's. Porsche 944s were also built there, although they used far fewer Volkswagen components. The Cayenne, introduced in 2002, shares its chassis with the Volkswagen Touareg and the Audi Q7, which is built at the Volkswagen Group factory in Bratislava, Slovakia.
In August 2009, Porsche SE and Volkswagen Group reached an agreement that the car manufacturing operations of the two companies would merge in 2011, to form an "Integrated Automotive Group". 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 Volkswagen AG is the predominant investment by Porsche SE, and VW AG in turn controls brands and companies such as Volkswagen, Audi, SEAT, Škoda, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche AG, Ducati, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Scania AB, MAN SE, as well as Volkswagen Financial Services.
Porsche AG, as a 100% subsidiary of VW AG, is responsible for the actual production and manufacture of the Porsche automobile line. The company currently produces Porsche 911, Porsche Boxster and Porsche Cayman sports cars, the Porsche Cayenne and Porsche Macan sport utility vehicles and the four-door Porsche Panamera.
In addition to its subsidiaries Porsche Design and Porsche Engineering, Porsche AG owns the consulting firm MHP Management- und IT-Beratung, which was fully acquired by January 2024. Porsche also has a 29% share in German engineering and design consultancy Bertrandt. In 2018, Porsche acquired a 10% minority shareholding stake of the Croatian Electric car manufacturer Rimac Automobili to form a development partnership.
Chief Executive Officer
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.
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. 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.
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 the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart.
In August 2021, Porsche confirmed that it would be setting up a production plant in Malaysia, the first country outside of Europe. 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.
In May 2025, Porsche North America confirmed the rumors that "production for all current 718 Boxster and 718 Cayman variants, including RS models, is scheduled to end in October of 2025". Porsche CEO Oliver Blume has confirmed future production of full-electric replacements but said they will arrive in the "medium term."
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.
Of the 263,236 cars produced in 2020, 28,672 were 911 models, 22,655 were 718 Boxster and Cayman cars, 82,137 were Cayennes, 21,832 were Panameras, 78,490 were Macans, and 29,450 were Taycan vehicles.
Of the 321,321 vehicles produced in 2022, 41,947 were 911 models, 18,080 were 718 Boxster and Cayman models, 91,117 were Macans, 98,113 were Cayennes, 35,241 were Panameras, and 36,823 were Taycan models.
Of the 302,750 vehicles produced in 2024, 49,095 were 911 models, 23,790 were 718 Boxster and Cayman models, 84,330 were Macans, 93,864 were Cayennes, 30,369 were Panameras, and 21,302 were Taycan models.
The current Porsche car model includes sports cars from the Porsche Boxster roadster to its most famous product, the 911. The Porsche Cayman is a coupé otherwise similar to the Boxster. The Porsche Cayenne is Porsche's mid-size luxury sport utility vehicle (SUV). A high performance luxury saloon/sedan, the Panamera, was launched in 2009.
Porsche developed a prototype electric Porsche Boxster called the Boxster E in 2011 and a hybrid version of the 911 called the GT3 R Hybrid, developed with Williams Grand Prix Engineering in 2010.
In July 2014, Porsche announced the launch by the end of 2014 of the Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid a plug-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 premium SUV segment and will allow Porsche to become the first automaker with three production plug-in hybrid models.
In July 2017, Porsche installed its first 350 kW, 800V charging station, which the upcoming Porsche Taycan 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.
In August 2018, Porsche announced that the formerly named Porsche Taycan electric car would be named " Taycan", meaning 'leaping horse'. The prototype electric car was expected to be revealed in 2019 after its completion. Porsche Taycan went on sale in 2020.
Porsche won the J.D. Power and Associates Initial Quality Study (IQS) in 2006, 2009, 2010, and 2014.
In 2015, US News ranked the Macan as the best luxury compact SUV in its class.
In 2014, the Porsche Cayman and Boxster made the Consumer Reports list for most reliable vehicles on the road.
Porsche's 911 has been officially named by the TÜV (Technischer Überwachungsverein; Technical Inspection Association) as Germany's most reliable car.
Company logo
Developments
Relationship with Volkswagen
Corporate restructuring
Initial public offering
Australian eFuel operations
2025 & Financial Disaster
/ref> The massive decline is due to:
Leadership
/ref>
Production and sales
+Sales by region (2024)
!Region
!Sales in € million
!share U.S. and Canada 12,927 32.2% Europe without Germany 9,550 23.8% China incl. Hong Kong 6,305 15.7% Rest of the world 6,105 15.2% Germany 5,200 13.0%
Production composition
U.S. sales
+Annual US sales 2003–2005
! rowspan="2" style="width:120px;" Model
! colspan="2" style="width:160px;" 2003
! colspan="2" style="width:160px;" 2004
! colspan="2" style="width:160px;" 2005 +Annual US sales 2006–2008
! rowspan="2" style="width:120px;" Model
! colspan="2" style="width:160px;" 2006
! colspan="2" style="width:160px;" 2007
! colspan="2" style="width:160px;" 2008 +Annual US sales 2009–2011
! rowspan="2" style="width:120px;" Model
! colspan="2" style="width:160px;" 2009
! colspan="2" style="width:160px;" 2010
! colspan="2" style="width:160px;" 2011 +Annual US sales 2012–2014
! rowspan="2" style="width:120px;" Model
! colspan="2" style="width:160px;" 2012
! colspan="2" style="width:160px;" 2013
! colspan="2" style="width:160px;" 2014 +Annual US sales 2015–2017
! rowspan="2" style="width:120px;" Model
! colspan="2" style="width:160px;" 2015
! colspan="2" style="width:160px;" 2016
! colspan="2" style="width:160px;" 2017 +Annual US sales 2018–2020
! rowspan="2" style="width:120px;" Model
! colspan="2" style="width:160px;" 2018
! colspan="2" style="width:160px;" 2019
! colspan="2" style="width:160px;" 2020 +Annual US sales 2021–2023
! rowspan="2" style="width:120px;" Model
! colspan="2" style="width:160px;" 2021
! colspan="2" style="width:160px;" 2022
! colspan="2" style="width:160px;" 2023 +Annual US sales 2023–2025
! rowspan="2" style="width:120px;" Model
! colspan="2" style="width:160px;" 2024
! colspan="2" style="width:160px;" 2025
! colspan="2" style="width:160px;" 2026 Q1
Competitive Innovation
Models
Logo Porsche 718 Text.svg|Porsche 718 (Boxster and Cayman)
Logo Porsche 911 Text.svg|Porsche 911
Logo Porsche Cayenne Text.svg|[[Porsche Cayenne]]
Logo Porsche Macan Text.svg|[[Porsche Macan]]
Logo Porsche Panamera Text.svg|[[Porsche Panamera]]
Logo Porsche Taycan Text.svg|[[Porsche Taycan]]
Consumer models
Racing models
Prototypes and concept cars
Tractors
Hybrid and electric vehicles
Aircraft engines
Electric bicycles
Motorsport
Pronunciation
Reputation
SUV reception
Reliability
See also
Bibliography
External links
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