Volkswagen to build new Porsche Boxster

The new 2013 Porsche Boxster will enter production this summer at the Porsche plant in Zuffenhausen, Germany but overflow production of the redesigned Boxster will be handed at Volkswagen’s production facility in Osnabrueck, Germany rather than having Finnish carbuilder Valmet Automotive build the additional Boxsters.

The Volkswagen production facility in Osnabrueck that will be tasked with building the 2013 Porsche Boxster is currently building the golf Carbio and has been for about a year, with VW having purchased the plant in 2009 when automotive firm Wilhelm Karmann went out of business. It is unclear how many Porsche Boxsters will be built at the Osnabrueck VW plant but due to the restrictions of their paint shop – total production at the VW plant is currently limited to just 100,000 units per year. Production of the Porsche under VW’s roof is expected to begin with fall when the demand for the new Boxster overcomes the production rate at Zuffenhausen.

While it has not been specifically mentioned, the Volkswagen Osnabrueck plant will likely be responsible for the hardtopped version of the Boxster – the sleek Porsche Cayman – as the plant previously responsible for the Boxster overflow has also handed Cayman production.

The previous Porsche Boxster saw all overflow production handled at Valmet Automotive in Uusikaupunki, Finland. During the 15 years partnership between Valmet and Porsche, the Finnish automaker produced 227,890 Boxster and Caymans for a rate of just under 15,200 Porsches a year. That averages around 1,266 cars a month but that is based on an average over the past 15 years but Porsche (and many around the industry) expect to see sales of the entry level Boxster and Cayman boom with the introduction of the new version. Sales of the Boxster and Cayman have slumped a bit since the new 2013 model was introduced, bringing about just 123 units sold in the US in February 2012. This was a decline of almost 50% compared to February 2011 but as production begins of the higher performance 2013 Boxster and Boxster S – Porsche expects to see the popularity of their entry level roadster boom in the US and around the world. Click here for a closer look at the revised 2013 Boxster.

Porsche owns almost 51% of the Volkswagen, making the Stuttgart based automaker the majority owner of the VW Group. Moving production from Valmet Automotive, where Porsche was literally just paying someone else to build their vehicles, to a plant owned by one of the company’s holdings could help to save Porsche money on production of the 2013 Porsche Boxster. With the financial problems in Europe, automakers will be doing whatever they can to continue making money so cutting the costs of production by bringing things in house is a good step towards cutting costs without hurting quality.

Source: Ward’s Auto