|
Stuttgart: German sports carmaker Porsche marked its 60th
anniversary on June 8, the company having started operations in 1948
with the first Porsche prototype. The first model, with the vehicle
identification number 356-001, received its official approval and
homologation for road service.
“It all started when I began looking around
and just could not find my dream car,“ said company founder Ferry
Porsche at the time. “So I decided to build it myself.”
In the past six decades, the carmaker said it
has not only experienced peaks but also troughs. Yet, it said that
thanks to efficient production methods, clear branding and
innovative models such as the 356, 911, Boxster and Cayenne, the
once small sports car specialist quickly transformed itself into one
of the most successful and profitable automobile manufacturers in
the world.
“Today, Porsche is stronger than
ever,“ said present Porsche CEO Dr. Wendelin Wiedeking.
“We have the broadest and most appealing
automobile model range in the history of our company. We have our
costs and our processes under control and thus ensured our
independence for the long term. We have always seen ourselves as
David who must stand up to the Goliaths in this industry. This has
what shaped us throughout the years and made us successful,” said
Wiedeking.
The carmaker revealed that when Wiedeking took
over management in 1992, Porsche had reached the peak of its most
serious economic crisis. The company was in danger of losing its
most valuable asset—its independence.
Porsche said Wiedeking not only had the Boxster
produced, but also brought about the company’s turn-around through
other economic measures.
Under the generic terms “lean management”
and “lean production,” new organizational and production
workflows were introduced and the company’s hierarchy and process
structures were reorganized. In 1995, Porsche was back in the black
and began to assume a leading position by breaking new revenue,
sales and earnings records annually, the carmaker said.
On its 60th year, Porsche also revealed that it
develops new technologies not just to improve driving features but
also to continuously optimize the cars for environmental
sustainability. In the last 15 years, Porsche said it has succeeded
in reducing the fuel consumption of its new cars as well as CO2
emissions by an average of 1.7 percent annually. With regard to
engine performance, Porsche said it currently ranks among
manufacturers with the lowest CO2 emissions.
By 2012, the fuel consumption in Porsche
vehicles is going to be reduced by 20 percent more, the carmaker
said, through new innovative engine technologies such as the hybrid
drive for the Cayenne and Panamera.
|
