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Three days before the Geneva Motor Show opened its doors to reveal the shape of cars to come, the Supervisory Board of Porsche moved to reshape the European car industry itself. Subject to regulatory approval, the go ahead was given to increase Porsche’s stake in Volkswagen to more than 50 per cent.
The controlling majority will see Porsche at the helm of a group that will expect to sell 6.7 million vehicles a year. This figure was bolstered by the announcement only a few hours earlier that VW would pay €2.9bn to takeover Swedish truck manufacturer Scania.
Porsche has moved to allay fears that it is creating an unwieldy company in the British Leyland mould. It confirmed that there are no plans to merge the companies. Instead chief executive Wendelin Wiedeking announced: “Our aim is to create one of the strongest and most innovative automobile alliances in the world, which is able to measure up to increased international competition.”
The £7.7bn deal will result in Volkswagen AG – comprising Audi, Skoda, Bentley, Lamborghini, Seat and Bugatti – become a further sub group of Porsche Automobil Holding SE. Dr Wiedeking stressed that the decision would enable both manufacturers “to write a new chapter in automobile history, working together in a partnership based on fairness and collegiality.”
The creation of this automotive giant, a long-held dream for both Wiedeking and his predecessor, Ferdinand Piech, was made possible by a European Commission ruling that rejected a German law that restricted shareholdings in VW.
The takeover is expected to be completed by July.
Nic Cackett
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