Porsche was based only in Zuffenhausen for about 70 years, but as it continued to grow, especially in the 1990s, new frontiers needed to be discovered. And what better time than the beginning of a new century for Porsche to open its second production facility? The plant in Leipzig, in the east of Germany, underwent construction beginning in 2000. Two years later, production of the Cayenne, the plant’s debut vehicle and the company’s first-ever SUV, began.
The Porsche Leipzig facility, which in 2019 won the highest accolade given out by the German Sustainable Building Council, is now powered entirely by renewable energy sources, exactly like the Zuffenhausen plant is. This is 20 years after the first vehicle rolled off the assembly line. Currently, the Panamera and the Macan are produced in Leipzig. To build the plant and set up the production for the future all-new, all-electric Macan, over 600 million euros have been invested.
The Leipzig plant also has a test track facility with turns that were modeled after some of the greatest racetracks in the world, including the Bus Stop at Spa-Francorchamps, the Corkscrew at Laguna Seca, and the Mobil1 S curve at the Nurburgring. More than 400,000 people visit its Customer Center annually, and over 2,000 of them directly pick up their new Porsche from here each year after purchasing a new Porsche and wondering where Porsche cars are built. This package includes a visit of the plant and a driving lesson with an instructor in a test version of their vehicle on a test track.
In This Article...
Cookies are used on this site. We do this to provide you with a more individualized experience and to better understand how people use our site. In compliance with our Privacy Notice, we communicate information about how you use our website with our social media and analytics partners.
The Macan embodies the ideal connection between man and machine, just like every other Porsche. Modern production is completed at the Leipzig facility thanks to an intelligently regulated production process that spans numerous locations and numerous suppliers. The creation of the little SUV: the path of perfection.
The dance begins with the floor group. Three yellow robots execute their flawless choreography at station 1810 in Porsche’s Leipzig plant’s new body production area. With fluid, almost human movements, they weld the front and rear floors, the front wheel wells, the longitudinal members, and the spring strut mounts. The Macan is constructed top to bottom. The Macan is christened at station 1810, at which point it becomes a vehicle, and is given a transponder that contains a unique identifying number for it.
It was merely a collection of discrete pieces of aluminum and sheet steel that had been delivered by vendors to the body building supply center prior to the dance. They are then timely supplied by tugger train to the plant’s lines from there. They set up those lines in a flash. Porsche created the body construction area and paint facility in less than 26 months and reorganized the assembly line without pausing work. From 860,000 square feet to 2.6 million square feet now, the factory floor has expanded. That is around 45 football fields. Oliver Blume, Executive Board Member for Production and Logistics, expressed his admiration for the accomplishment by saying, “I’m thrilled with how the team managed this large project.”
The first of the three robots, in the meantime, has put down its welding gun and picked up its handling grippers, using which it is able to lift the Macan’s underbody and set it on a transport slide, where it will then begin building the body. Following this, the side sections, roof, and add-on part assembly stages are completed, integrating the body with the previously assembled doors, tailgate, front wings, and clamshell hood. The hood serves as a production highlight in addition to being aesthetically pleasing. According to Thomas Riediger, the man in charge of organizing the new lines, “its shape and scale caused huge obstacles at every stage of the production process.”
The procedure starts in Slovakia’s Volkswagen facility in Bratislava. The Macan hood is created there on the largest press in the Volkswagen group. With a force of 20.4 million pounds, or nearly the weight of 4,500 Macans, the press operates, producing an exceptionally enormous draw depth of 14.9 inches (the phrase used when a cup- or box-like structure is generated). Robots do the de-stacking, or transferring, of the pressed components entirely autonomously. This method, which is only used in Bratislava as of now, protects the aluminum hood from damage.
We have reached the end station in body construction and are back in Leipzig. Two technicians who work on body construction inspect the components and surface areas. Riediger notes that for everything to match exactly during assembly, “the car geometry has to be correct.” The bodies are then transported from here to the paint shop.
Volkswagen Macan
The German automaker Porsche began producing the Macan (Type 95B), a high-performance five-door luxury crossover SUV, in 2014. Leipzig, Germany is where it’s constructed. Many different models are available in the Macan lineup, including the Macan, Macan S, Macan S Diesel, Macan GTS, and the Macan Turbo. The Macan and Audi Q5 are built on the same basis. It is the Porsche model that costs the least right now.
In its German plant, Porsche produces more than 160,000 cars annually. Look about within.
Porsche continues to be associated with luxury and high performance in the auto industry and among automobile buyers. It’s obvious why the brand has a stellar reputation after producing classic vehicles for more than 70 years. The Porsche factory in Leipzig, Germany, has the answer to the question of how such high-quality automobiles are made. The plant has produced more than 160,000 automobiles annually since it first opened its doors in 2002. Here, the carmaker produces the well-known Macan SUV and Panamera executive car.
The two body shops in the plant serve as the starting point. The Panamera’s frame and outer shell are put together by a total of 475 robots, while the Macan is put together by 387 robots. Hundreds of individual steel and aluminum parts are assembled into the two versions using a combination of flow drilling, punch riveting, laser beam welding, and clinching. Workers must finish acceptance inspections before moving on to the paint shop.
Each car receives an electrophoretic coating that prevents corrosion as its initial layer of paint. For maximum coverage, each body is rotated on its axis after five minutes of being submerged in a basin of electrophoretic dip paint. The vehicle’s welding seams are then sealed using unique PVC materials. Inside and exterior of the car, filler is applied by painting robots to prevent harm to the topcoat while also enhancing its shine. The basecoat and clearcoat are then applied, and the body is then dried for 35 minutes at 275 degrees Fahrenheit. All vehicles get a thorough visual inspection after drying in the paint shop’s “light tunnel,” which is equipped with a lengthy row of LED tubes.
Freshly painted body shells are transformed into high-performance luxury vehicles on the assembly line. To start assembling the cockpit of the vehicle, all doors are opened. Depending on the version and installation, a cockpit could include 200 separate components. The external door handles, exterior mirrors, seals, and trims are added to vehicle doors on a separate line. The underbody of the car is then put together and equipped with things like the fuel tank, brake lines, and fuel lines. The front and back windows are then fitted by robots before being bonded into place. The battery, accelerator pedal, front and back seats, side airbags, and main lamps are also installed. Then, all doors are reattached, and the recognizable Porsche badge is installed. The supplied engine is mated to the transmission and powertrain components after being put through rigorous quality control testing. The engine, chassis, and body are then “married” together using an automated guided vehicle system. The car is then filled with petrol, coolant, and brake fluid, and all four wheels are installed after the dramatic “marriage” of the engine and engine wiring.
The process is completed with a comprehensive inspection on the factory test track, which follows some final tweaking and time on the chassis dynamometer.
What factory produces Porsche engines?
Zuffenhausen continues to be the beating center of Porsche. This is where it started. Beginning here, the first Porsche production model was put into series production. And it is here that all Porsche engines and our Sports Cars are being made today. This is unusual in the whole automobile business because we create both the standard-production and racing versions of our vehicles on the same assembly line.
In addition to Production, Quality Management and Logistics are also located here.
The headquarters of the management group are also located here, making this area the hub of the business. And it keeps evolving, expanding, and changing, as seen, for instance, by the brand-new paint shop that is environmentally friendly. With this paint facility, Porsche bridges the gap between business and the environment, generates jobs at the cutting edge of technology, and sustainably revitalizes this internationally recognized location.
Will the Porsche Macan maintain its value?
The Porsche Macan retains 42% of its value because of its extensive product lineup, timeless style, and outstanding performance levels. Since 2016, the Macan has won the Best Resale Value Award from Kelley Blue Book for premium small crossover SUVs, and it has continued to strengthen its position in this fiercely competitive market.
The Porsche Macan is dependable.
With a reliability rating of 1.5 out of 5, the Porsche Macan is ranked 11th among 11 luxury compact SUVs. Poor ownership expenses are indicated by the $1,265 average yearly repair cost. You can anticipate more significant repairs for the Macan because both the frequency and severity of repairs are substantially higher than those for the average vehicle.
Is the Macan engine from a Porsche an Audi?
According to the model year, installing a “S” emblem on the back of your Porsche Macan implies you’re installing a 3.0-liter turbocharged V6 with either 340 or 348 horsepower.
The original Macan S was manufactured with this engine until 2019. It is powered by a variation of Audi’s V6 TFSI engine that is shared with the Audi Q5. Numerous contemporary Audi and Porsche engines use direct injection, often known as turbo fuel stratified injection (TFSI). A very quick SUV, the original Macan S can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in just 5.1 seconds and can reach a top speed of 156 mph.
348 hp and 354 lb-ft of torque are produced by the new 3.0-liter turbocharged V6 engine.
Unlike the twin-turbo arrangement of the original Macan, this new V6 is fitted with a single twin-scroll turbocharger situated in the inner V of the engine. The new, more potent engine offered more horsepower and torque than the 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 Porsche employed in earlier Macan S iterations.
With the optional Sport Chrono package, the updated model could accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 5.1 seconds or 4.9 seconds. The model’s maximum track speed marginally raised to 157 mph.
The primary distinction between these engines is between single- and twin-turbo configurations. The first engine was created by Porsche, whilst the second was mostly an Audi project. Don’t let that discourage you because they drive virtually the same.
There were a few issue points in the original engine. The most frequent cause of misfires is a defective ignition coil, so if one fails, it’s preferable to replace them all at once.
A high-pressure pump for the engine and a low-pressure pump for the fuel tank are both included in the Porsche Macan. It’s easy to mistake which one is causing the issue, so if one fails, make sure to test both.
Early Macan S and GTS vehicles had an oil leak coming from the sealing on the timing case lid. Although the problem was fixed in later versions, oil leaks could still occur in the future because of the timing case seal. The fix is complicated and calls for extensive knowledge and expertise. So, it’s a problem that you’ll probably require a skilled technician to solve.
In early 2020, Porsche started a recall related to a gasoline leak that affects all vehicles made between 2014 and 2019. This is the third time the Macan has undergone a recall.