VW and Porsche can't get along, risk future tech and product plans
In the land of mergers and acquisitions, there are takeovers, there are hostile takeovers, and then there are I'm Gonna Git You Sucka No Matter What takeovers. Porsche's increasingly acrimonious battle to swallow VW is becoming that third option, and the brawl might threaten the short term plans of Porsche, VW and Audi. Porsche wants access to Audi engines and electronics, but VW, which owns more than 99-percent of Audi, won't allow it.
Porsche has de facto control of VW, with a 35.1-percent share. The so-called VW Law, which allows the government of Lower Saxony ultimate veto power even though it has only a 20-percent share, has been the broadsword that both VW and Germany have been using to keep Porsche at bay. The law has been struck down at least three times by the EU Commission and a German Court, only to have politicians figure out how to rewrite it without changing the substance of it.
VW's supverisory board recently declared it would need to approve any sharing between Porsche and Audi, and at the moment, Porsche can't overrule that decision. Ferdinand Piech, the head of VW, is in a battle with the Porsche family and Wendelin Wiedeking, the CEO of Porsche, over control, and neither is expected to budge. The risk is that since no one knows how this is all going to play out, a battle of egos and punitive reactions could interrupt development of and platform sharing between – and therefore the profits of – all three manufacturers' future products and technology.
[Source: Automotive News, sub. req'd]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Jordan 10:01AM (10/01/2008)
Haha... "You have ten seconds to comply"... "Talk to the hand"..... that made me laugh out loud
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Matt 11:16AM (10/01/2008)
Haha, yeah from now on I'm always going to imagine ED-209 sitting on the Porsche board.
Product manager: "Research indicates that there is customer demand for a Porsche-branded 7-door family vehicle."
ED-209: "PLEASE PUT DOWN THE FLIP CHART. YOU NOW HAVE FIVE SECONDS TO COMPLY."
Mobius_1 10:02AM (10/01/2008)
Porsche with Audi engines? I'd like to see the TT-S engine in the Boxster/Cayman, and let's hope it also works the other way round, since the 911 Turbo's engine is probably my favourite anywhere, and Porsches apparently are magical to drive unlike VW cars which are mostly described as "wooden"
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catter12 10:42AM (10/01/2008)
VWs not being fun to drive? Since when? VWs have always been a blast to drive.
IMF 11:54AM (10/01/2008)
Since when VWs have been fun to drive? The GTI maybe, the rest I don't think so
ajmalzx 10:08AM (10/01/2008)
This is going to get ugly....
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kal326 2:44PM (10/01/2008)
No joke atleast it hasn't gotten to this level.
"I'm into... well murders and executions mostly. ...most guys I know who work with mergers and acquisitions really don't like it."
Quattroporte 10:16AM (10/01/2008)
I'm guessing Porsche wants to use Audi engines, such as the new supercharged V6 to their V12 diesels, for the Cayenne and Panamera rather than to replace their flat-6 engines in their sports cars.
Or, the statement "Porsche wants access to Audi engines..." is misleading and they really want a closer look at the Audi R10 TDI.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Neckarsulm-AudiForum-Audi-R10-TDI.jpg
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montoym 9:34PM (10/01/2008)
Porsche already uses VW/Audi engines in the Cayenne. The 3.6L V-6 is the same one found in the Passat with a bit more power. Previously, it was offered with the 3.2L until that was discontinued in most everything. Wasn't it also previously reported that Porsche would use an Audi TDI in the Cayenne as well?
I'm pretty sure Porsche doesn't need to take over VWAG in order to keep the flow of engines coming.
JC 10:24AM (10/01/2008)
The people I know that own Porsche's are "Porsche purists." It is only Porsche and Porsche alone, imagine when these owners find out their new cars' engines are AUDIS???!!!! Porsche is risking its core buyers purchasing power. I am so tired of all these whining mega-rich shareholders who are dictating every move this planet does for the sake of profit...what's next Toyota engines in Ferraris???
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Yago Bal 10:29AM (10/01/2008)
If it was like that, they collapsed already with the Cayenne.
Ford Wannup 11:00AM (10/01/2008)
@JC:
so the shareholders put up their money, which allows the company to invest and build product, and they expect to make profit. Those bastards!
I own stocks, I am guessing you do too. I ain't a gazzillionaire, and I will not complaint, I swear, if the company I invest in makes a ton of money
993C4S 11:27AM (10/01/2008)
@JC,
You wrote: >>>I am so tired of all these whining mega-rich shareholders who are dictating every move this planet does for the sake of profit
993C4S 11:32AM (10/01/2008)
@JC. Hmm. the rest of my comment got lopped off.
Isn't "profit" the mandate of any publicly held company? To create "share holder value" is what I remember their responsibility to be. This means driving revenue and profit.
As for "purists" I'm probably one of the biggest ones out there. I publish http://porschepurist.com and it's all about the cars, products and lifestyle of Porsche owners. With that said, I still enjoy other brands, drive other cars and see the value in sharing technologies. It will only make each company stronger.
Let's not forget that if not for Porsche VW wouldn't be the company it is today. More importantly, if not for VW, Porsche as we know it wouldn't exist!!
Christian de Saint Preux 10:28AM (10/01/2008)
Porsche is behind on almost everyone... they need a refresh and they are willing to kill for it.
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Todd 10:31AM (10/01/2008)
Hmmm....
The 914 was alright, cheap, semi-fast, but handled well.
The 924 was teh epic fail.
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nagmashot 1:25AM (10/02/2008)
the most wrong comment ever...
The 924/944/968 was the Porsche model family that allowed Porsche to survive their trouble time in the 1980´s and 1990´s with the money they earned from that models they were able to modernize their production..without 924/944/968 Porsche would be history since 15years and would be in the hand of a other brand.
Thanks to 924 Porsche still is a independent car brand.
Todd 11:59AM (10/02/2008)
Where Did I say that the 944/968 was an epic failure?
Nowhere.
The 924 was horrible because it had a wheezy little VW/Audi fourcylinder which was a pig of a motor. I've talked to guys who owned 924s, and they never owned them for long.
GTAm 10:58AM (10/01/2008)
i see big problems for audi if porsche take over
let porsche use its own engines and audi thier engnes
porsche only want to get rid of the r8 and tt which are the biggst reveal of the 911, cayman and boxster and even of the new awsome rs6
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Razor1973 11:28AM (10/01/2008)
What's a "supverisory board"?
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