Filed under: SUVs, Plants/Manufacturing, Audi, Porsche, Volkswagen
Poorly-translated rumormill: VW to build Porsches in U.S.
Click above for a high-res gallery of the Porsche Cayenne GTS.
As much as we enjoy scouring through German newspapers, something inevitably gets lost in translation. However, the title of a story in Germany's Handelsblatt ePaper is clear: Volkswagen is considering building Porsche Cayennes at its new plant in the U.S.
While VW hasn't made a decision on the plant yet, it's been confirmed that the automaker is looking at locations in Alabama, Michigan and Tennessee to produce 150,000 units annually, including the Jetta and an all-new Passat-sized sedan. How the Cayenne fits into that equation remains a mystery, but the idea that VW and Audi could shift production of its Touareg and Q7 Stateside means that building the Cayenne in the U.S. is a distinct possibility.
Gallery: 2008 Porsche Cayenne GTS
[Sources: Handelsbatt (Google-translated), Autoweek]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
tankd0g 12:11PM (5/13/2008)
Are Porsche sales still growing in the US? There must be more oil executives there than I thought.
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Ian 12:35PM (5/13/2008)
Porrsche have a huge CAFE problem in about 5 years. They also now own a substantial minority of VW Group. Thus if Porsche took their stake up to a controling 51% would Porsche be able to take the average CARFE of VW+Audi+Porsche and survive this way?
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Fred 12:53PM (5/13/2008)
Already done: http://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/03/porsche-ups-ownership-in-vw-to-51/
Ian 12:39PM (5/13/2008)
Wanna bet they also consider selling Bentley to relieve CAFE pressure?
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info 12:48PM (5/13/2008)
The Handelsblatt article states that VW is considering building also Audi and Porsche models at their US facility once it is in operation but not before the middle of the next decade. The main consideration here is given to Audo because, as the article states, that might eliminate the necessity to build a separate Audi plant in the US. The article also reports that VW will build a new model in the US that is built specifically for the US market.
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Jimbo 12:56PM (5/13/2008)
I seriously doubt VW will build a plant in UAW-controlled Michigan.
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Xcountryflyer 1:11PM (5/13/2008)
They will build it somewhere in the South/Southeast where they will be welcomed with open arms and tax breaks and financial incentives. With the current exchange rate, I am sure we will continue to see more foreign makers cars build here.
Tai 2:37PM (5/13/2008)
It would have to rank up there with one of the most bone-headed decisions in automaker history to open in Detroit.
Drew 1:16PM (5/13/2008)
Me thinks they may be referring to that Q5 mini-Cayenne that was running around the 'Ring the other day... anyone else agree? US build would keep costs down, so it won't be cannibalizing the OG Cayenne, and keep it in M-Class/X5 territory...
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lad 1:46PM (5/13/2008)
When Is A Porsche not a Porsche?
When it's built by Beetle specialists.
I hate to see the Porsche brand diluted by VW.
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B 2:02PM (5/13/2008)
Porsche is buying VW, not the other way around. And lets not forget that VW already owns Bugatti, the company responsible for the Veyron 16:4, and Lamborghini, an Italian car company, and as far as I know, hardly any people have gone around saying that VW has ruined them.
nagmashot 3:23PM (5/13/2008)
VW already build all Cayenne chassies.. and many engines parts used in the Cayenne are from VW
ugg.tryptophan 3:26PM (5/13/2008)
beetle specialists? what is this, the 60's. VW makes other (nicer) cars now, get over it. The gti and phaeton are two examples of great Volkswagens, build quality is hindered only by materials. I doubt their diluting any of the brands they own.
lad 6:10PM (5/13/2008)
My apologies guys; I owned a couple of Vdubs in the seventies and always felt like they should have supplied a mechanic with each car. So after reviewing how the company has progressed under Porsche's banner, I am pleased to see it's a better company indeed. And, I'm very impressed with the current grouping of VW track cars. My son runs Time Trials and is third to a older Porsche 944 and a newer VW R series car.
It will be very interesting to see if Porsche/VW will go with electric drive to meet the new MPG requirements.
imoore 3:09PM (5/13/2008)
If my suspicions are correct, then that means The proposed plant, if it does take shape, will build the Toureag, Q7, and Cayenne, plus a US version of the Robust pickup. And the final place will be either Alabama or Tennessee. Sorry guys, but Michigan can forget it.
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Kent 4:06PM (5/13/2008)
We want the Scirocco!!
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RLQ 5:40PM (5/13/2008)
Considering with the weak dollar, don't be surprise to see more European companies sending more jobs to the U.S.
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