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2013 Porsche Cajun

The Chairman of the Supervisory Board and Chairman of the Board of Management of Porsche AG, Wolfgang Porsche and Matthias Müller, today joined numerous guests from the world of politics and business in laying the foundation stone for the second extension of the company’s Leipzig factory site. It is an important milestone, and one which writes another chapter in the successful history of Porsche in the Saxony region of Germany.

“We are investing another 500 million euro in the production facility to build the ‘Cajun’ in Leipzig. This is not just a mark of confidence in the manufacturing skills of our Leipzig colleagues, but also an important contribution to the economic development of the region.” said Matthias Müller on the morning of the festivities.

Porsche Board of Management member with responsibility for production Wolfgang Leimgruber added: “We want to expand the production of high-performance sports cars and off-road vehicles in Leipzig. At the same time the ambition is for the plant to achieve the highest standards with a forward-looking quality strategy.”

More than 1,000 new jobs and a new 17 hectare production site are being created to handle the production of the ‘Cajun’. “The fact that the assembly plant is now to become a fully fledged factory with body assembly line and paint shop is an enormous motivation for me and my team,” explained Siegfried Bülow, Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche Leipzig GmbH, citing as a challenge the tough timetable governing the plant extension, with production of the ‘Cajun’ scheduled to start as early as the end of 2013. “The acquisition and qualification of new staff is also an important item on our agenda. We are trusting in tried-and-tested processes, thus ensuring that the first ‘Cajun’ from Leipzig is of outstanding ‘typical Porsche’ quality, setting standards in its class.”

The Leipzig Porsche plant is also setting environmental standards, being one of the world’s most efficient car factories. For example, the very efficient air recirculation and power cut-off technologies in the paint shop ensure particularly economical energy use. “Sustainability of the very highest order is enshrined in our environmental principles. Our use of ultra-modern equipment and facilities is a valuable contribution to frugal automotive engineering,” said Wolfgang Leimgruber.

Leipzig Lord Mayor Burkhard Jung also emphasised the impressive development of the site: “The decision by Porsche in 1999 to build a plant in our city brought the industrial site to life with a kiss. Porsche was followed by many important business start-ups, putting Leipzig in the fast lane. Ten years and more than 420,000 ‘Made in Leipzig’ Porsches later, this industrial site has finally come of age.”

The Porsche site in Leipzig has been producing the Cayenne since it opened in 2002. After a first extension, the four-seater Panamera Gran Turismo has also been produced here since 2009. It is assembled alongside the Cayenne on the mixed-model assembly line. Porsche has invested approximately 280 million euro in the Leipzig site to date.

With the efficient and agile ‘Cajun’, Porsche is expanding its SUV segment which is in high demand around the globe. With typically Porsche characteristics, the light and nimble ‘Cajun’ will inject fresh momentum alongside the new generation Cayenne, which has consolidated its market position as one of the most successful sporting all-wheel drive vehicles in the premium segment to a significant degree. The ‘Cajun’ is intended – alongside the Boxster, the market-leading two-seater mid-engined sports car – to provide an attractive route for new, younger customers to enter the world of Porsche.

2013 Porsche Cajun