PORSCHE EXPANDS ENGINEERING AND ASSEMBLY CAPACITY

Engineering work at Porsche has a long tradition of using foreign development sites in search of tomorrow’s perfect sports cars and services. From next year, the manufacturer’s capacity will grow even further to include a permanent new research and development satellite in China, allowing sustained focus on what has become Porsche’s biggest sales market. The company is also strengthening its presence in the emerging markets of Southeast Asia — beyond ambitious new projects, such as the implementation of the region’s first cross-border high-performance charging network (in cooperation with Shell), Porsche will establish a small-scale assembly facility in Malaysia to join the company’s existing network of production houses. Resulting vehicles will be tailored to local requirements and will be sold in Malaysia only.

Southeast Asia represents significant growth and innovation potentials. Porsche is expanding its footprint in the ten-member ASEAN region (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) by setting up its Malaysian assembly plant with its long-standing partner, Sime Darby Berhad.

The R&D satellite location in Shanghai is designed to increase understanding of the company’s Chinese customers and their requirements, and to improve local product development. It comes in addition to Porsche Digital China, which was set up as an independent company earlier this year, and Porsche Engineering China, which has had a presence in the market for more than twenty years. “We’re driven by curiosity, by perpetually learning and fine-tuning our cars,” says Oliver Blume, Chairman of the Executive Board at Porsche. “Having a permanent home for this work in China will bring obvious benefits, particularly when it comes to reflecting and predicting our customers’ needs in the country. After all, this nation has welcomed Porsche and our cars to such an extent China has been our biggest sales market for six consecutive years. The Chinese automotive market is very dynamic and customer preferences are highly specific. We want to meet these demands the best way possible,” he adds.

Porsche has established a dedicated and ever-growing international network of permanent research, development and testing locations in order to meet the needs of its customers around the globe. These sites carry out important engineering and design work, with lessons learned finding their way into finished cars. While the network is spread across several continents, the company’s engineering home in Weissach, Germany, is directly linked to every base. These range from the frozen lakes of Arjeplog in northern Sweden, where the majority of extreme cold weather testing is conducted, to the unique climate and roads found in Johannesburg, South Africa, as well as the dry heat of California, in the USA. This work affects not just dynamics and vehicle quality, but also the comfort and convenience technology fitted to current and future Porsche sports cars.