The company has always had a close relationship with, initially, the Volkswagen (VW) marque, and later, the Volkswagen Group (which also owns AUDI AG), because the first Volkswagen Beetle was designed by Ferdinand Porsche. 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, in 1976 with the Porsche 912E (USA only) and the Porsche 924, which used many Audi components, and was built at Audi's Neckarsulm factory. Porsche 944s were also built there, although they used far fewer Volkswagen components. The Cayenne, introduced in 2002, shares its entire chassis with Volkswagen Touareg and Audi Q7, which is built at the Volkswagen Group factory in Bratislava. In late 2005, Porsche took an 18.65% stake in the Volkswagen Group, further cementing their relationship, and preventing a takeover of Volkswagen Group, which was rumoured at the time. Speculated suitors included DaimlerChrysler AG, BMW, and Renault.
Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to
Porsche SE (
German pronunciation a
Societas Europaea or
European Public Company, is a German based
holding company with investments in the
automotive industry.Porsche SE is headquartered in Zuffenhausen, a city district of
Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg and is owned by the
Piëch and
Porsche families, and Qatar Holdings, through the
Qatar Investment Authority (10%).
Through its investment in
Porsche Zwischenholding GmbH, it owns 50.1%
Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, which is the manufacturer of a range of
sports cars and
SUVs, and 50.7% of
Volkswagen AG.The company was founded as
Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche GmbH in 1931 by
Ferdinand Porsche,
an Austrian engineer born in Maffersdorf, during the time of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire (today
Vratislavice nad Nisou, Czech Republic), and Porsche's son-in-law
Anton Piëch, an Austrian advocate.
Porsche SE was spun out of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG (Porsche AG) in June 2007 and became a holding company for its stake in Porsche Zwischenholding GmbH (50.1%) (which in turn holds 100% of Porsche AG) and Volkswagen AG (50.7%).
Since December 2009, Porsche SE lost control Porsche Zwischenholding GmbH, which as a result is now a joint venture between Porsche SE and Volkswagen AG. In August 2009, Porsche SE and
Volkswagen AG reached an agreement that the two companies would merge in 2011, to form an "Integrated Automotive Group".
Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG (which stands for
Doktor Ingenieur honoris causa Ferdinand Porsche Aktiengesellschaft), is responsible for the actual production and manufacture of the Porsche automobile line. The company currently produces
911 (
997),
Boxster and
Cayman sports cars, the
Cayenne sport utility vehicle and the four-door
Panamera.
Professor
Ferdinand Porsche founded the company called "Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche GmbH" in 1931,
with main offices at Kronenstraße 24 in the centre of
Stuttgart. Initially, the company offered motor vehicle development work and consulting,
but did not build any cars under its own name. One of the first assignments the new company received was from the German government to design a car for the people, a
German:
Volkswagen.
This resulted in the
Volkswagen Beetle, one of the most successful car designs of all time.
The
Porsche 64 was developed in 1939 using many components from the Beetle.
At the end of WW2 in 1945, the
Volkswagen factory at
Wolfsburg fell to the British. Ferdinand lost his position as Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen, and a British Army Major –
Ivan Hirst was put in charge of the factory. (In Wolfsburg, the Volkswagen company magazine dubbed him "The British Major who saved Volkswagen."
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 was begun. Many regard the 356 as the first Porsche simply because it was the first model
sold by the fledgling company. 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.
Through the
Volkswagen AG stake acquisition, Porsche reformed the company's structure, with Dr Ing. h. c. F. Porsche AG becoming a
holding company, renamed "Porsche Automobil Holding SE",
and a new Dr Ing. h. c. F. Porsche AG operating company being formed in 2007.
Thus the operating activities are separated from holding activities of the company.
There was an
Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) for Porsche AG shareholders which took place on 26 June 2007, at the Porsche Arena in
Stuttgart, Germany to discuss the change to the company structure.
On 3 March 2007, Porsche set the stage for obtaining a plurality stake in the Volkswagen AG. One day later Porsche sought to allay fears it would attempt to force a
merger with Volkswagen Group.
By September, Porsche owned a 35.14% plurality stake in Volkswagen AG, effectively giving it control over the company.
Volkswagen Group expected the move, and welcomed Porsche's investment.
In October 2008, Porsche announced its intent to raise its stake in Volkswagen AG to 75% during 2009, and on 7 January 2009, Porsche's holding in VW AG was raised to 50.76%.
Porsche's move automatically triggered a bid for
Scania AB, because VW AG already had a controlling position in the Swedish truck-maker.
As Porsche had no strategic interest in the company, on 19 January, they offered the minimum price in that mandatory takeover bid.
Porsche SE owned 50.8 percent of Volkswagen Group as of 5 January 2009, and has said it plans to lift the stake to 75 percent before the end of 2009, at that level they could bring VW AG's cash onto Porsche's books.
By March 2009, Porsche SE was aiming for its first ever credit ratings from U.S. rating agencies
Standard & Poor's and
Moody's.
In its efforts to acquire a majority holding in Volkswagen AG, Porsche built up a large debt burden, aggravated by taxes due on very large paper profits from Volkswagen AG options. By July 2009, Porsche was faced with debts exceeding 10 billion euros. The supervisory board of Porsche finally agreed to a number of arrangements whereby the
Qatar Investment Authority would inject a large amount of capital, and Porsche would be
merged with Volkswagen Group. On 23 July 2009,
Michael Macht was appointed CEO, to replace
Wendelin Wiedeking, who is expected to receive a compensation package of 50 million euros.
The company has always had a close relationship with, initially, the Volkswagen (VW) marque, and later, the Volkswagen Group (which also owns AUDI AG), because the first Volkswagen Beetle was designed by Ferdinand Porsche. 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, in 1976 with the Porsche 912E (USA only) and the Porsche 924, which used many Audi components, and was built at Audi's Neckarsulm factory. Porsche 944s were also built there, although they used far fewer Volkswagen components. The Cayenne, introduced in 2002, shares its entire chassis with Volkswagen Touareg and Audi Q7, which is built at the Volkswagen Group factory in Bratislava. In late 2005, Porsche took an 18.65% stake in the Volkswagen Group, further cementing their relationship, and preventing a takeover of Volkswagen Group, which was rumoured at the time. Speculated suitors included DaimlerChrysler AG, BMW, and Renault.
Porsche SE was spun out of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG (Porsche AG) in June 2007 and became a holding company for its stake in Porsche Zwischenholding GmbH (50.1%) (which in turn holds 100% of Porsche AG) and Volkswagen AG (50.7%).Since December 2009, Porsche SE lost control Porsche Zwischenholding GmbH, which as a result is now a joint venture between Porsche SE and Volkswagen AG. In August 2009, Porsche SE and Volkswagen AG reached an agreement that the two companies would merge in 2011, to form an "Integrated Automotive Group".Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG (which stands for Doktor Ingenieur honoris causa Ferdinand Porsche Aktiengesellschaft), is responsible for the actual production and manufacture of the Porsche automobile line. The company currently produces 911 (997), Boxster and Cayman sports cars, the Cayenne sport utility vehicle and the four-door Panamera.
At the end of WW2 in 1945, the Volkswagen factory at Wolfsburg fell to the British. Ferdinand lost his position as Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen, and a British Army Major – Ivan Hirst was put in charge of the factory. (In Wolfsburg, the Volkswagen company magazine dubbed him "The British Major who saved Volkswagen."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 was begun. Many regard the 356 as the first Porsche simply because it was the first model sold by the fledgling company. 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.
Through the Volkswagen AG stake acquisition, Porsche reformed the company's structure, with Dr Ing. h. c. F. Porsche AG becoming a holding company, renamed "Porsche Automobil Holding SE",and a new Dr Ing. h. c. F. Porsche AG operating company being formed in 2007.Thus the operating activities are separated from holding activities of the company.There was an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) for Porsche AG shareholders which took place on 26 June 2007, at the Porsche Arena in Stuttgart, Germany to discuss the change to the company structure.On 3 March 2007, Porsche set the stage for obtaining a plurality stake in the Volkswagen AG. One day later Porsche sought to allay fears it would attempt to force a merger with Volkswagen Group.By September, Porsche owned a 35.14% plurality stake in Volkswagen AG, effectively giving it control over the company.Volkswagen Group expected the move, and welcomed Porsche's investment.In October 2008, Porsche announced its intent to raise its stake in Volkswagen AG to 75% during 2009, and on 7 January 2009, Porsche's holding in VW AG was raised to 50.76%.Porsche's move automatically triggered a bid for Scania AB, because VW AG already had a controlling position in the Swedish truck-maker.As Porsche had no strategic interest in the company, on 19 January, they offered the minimum price in that mandatory takeover bid.Porsche SE owned 50.8 percent of Volkswagen Group as of 5 January 2009, and has said it plans to lift the stake to 75 percent before the end of 2009, at that level they could bring VW AG's cash onto Porsche's books.By March 2009, Porsche SE was aiming for its first ever credit ratings from U.S. rating agencies Standard & Poor's and Moody's.In its efforts to acquire a majority holding in Volkswagen AG, Porsche built up a large debt burden, aggravated by taxes due on very large paper profits from Volkswagen AG options. By July 2009, Porsche was faced with debts exceeding 10 billion euros. The supervisory board of Porsche finally agreed to a number of arrangements whereby the Qatar Investment Authority would inject a large amount of capital, and Porsche would be merged with Volkswagen Group. On 23 July 2009, Michael Macht was appointed CEO, to replace Wendelin Wiedeking, who is expected to receive a compensation package of 50 million euros.
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