Inside Porsche: a look at the Leipzig supercar factory production in detail
- Porsche was founded in Germany in 1931
- It’s headquartered in Zuffenhausen, Germany
- This is how each Porsche is expertly crafted
Published by Claire Reid
Edited by Kate Bain
Ever wondered where and how your favorite Porsche supercar is made?
Porsche – or Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG to give it its full moniker – was founded in Germany in 1931.
It’s headquartered in Zuffenhausen, in Stuttgart, Germany.
But in 2000 it founded its Leipzig factory where the Macan and Panamera are made.
The factory is responsible for creating tens of thousands of vehicles every day – and here’s how it happens.
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Where is a Porsche made?
Porsche has two main plants and both are in Germany: one is in the Zuffenhausen district of its hometown of Stuttgart and the other is in the city of Leipzig.
When it comes to which cars are made where, the Zuffenhausen factory produces the 911, the Taycan, the 718 Cayman, and the 718 Boxster; while Leipzig builds the Panamera and the Macan.
Leipzig also used to produce the Cayenne, but production of that vehicle has since moved to Slovakia.
Unlike some other luxury carmakers, such as Ferrari, Porsche produces hundreds of thousands of vehicles a year.
In 2022, Porsche built 321,321, up more than 20,000 from 2021 – and delivered 309,884.
Of these, the Porsche Cayenne SUV is the best-seller, with 95,604 delivered in 2022, followed by the Macan, which sold 86,724.
According to the automaker, around 550 Macans and Panameras are produced at the Leipzig plant every single day.
In 2023, the carmaker announced plans to invest around $274 million (€250m) into its Zuffenhausen factory to upgrade it ‘for the future’.
The upgrades would allow the carmaker to build both ICE and EVs at the factory, according to Porsche executive board member Albrecht Reimold.
“The conversion measures will enable increased efficiency, the highest quality standards, and mixed production of combustion-engine and electric sports cars,” he said.
“This will see us start a new chapter in sports car production in terms of the smart factory.”
What happens in the the Leipzig supercar factory?
The Leipzig factory is a much newer addition.
It was founded in 2000 and has the capability to produce three drive concepts – combustion engine, hybrid, and all-electrics on a single assembly line.
All Porsche vehicles, whether built at the Leipzig or the Zuffenhausen plant, start life at the body construction facility.
This is – as the name suggests – where the car’s basic body is built; at the Leipzig factory, there are three body construction plants: one for the Macan, one for the EV Macan, and one for the Panamera.
Once the body is built, it’s sent off to be painted – a lengthy process that begins with a dip in a zinc phosphate solution and ends with a clear varnish to seal the color in.
It’s still not job done, though, as once the painting process is over, the paintwork is then carefully inspected by workers in the LED light tunnel for any imperfections.
The human workers are assisted by the automated error detection system, which involves two robots that can scan the entire vehicle in just 70 seconds and identify ‘even the tiniest irregularities’ in the paintwork. How’s that for attention to detail?
With the car now painted, it heads to the final assembly where the interior is installed, alongside the windscreen, headlights, and rear window.
At this point, the iconic Porsche crest is attached to the car, before it is filled with fuel, coolant, and brake fluid.
The tires are then added and it’s time for a test drive.
Once the test drive is completed, the new Porsche is given a final inspection before its ready to leave the factory.
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Claire Reid is a journalist who hails from the UK but is now living in New Zealand. She began her career after graduating with a degree in Journalism from Liverpool John Moore’s University and has more than a decade of experience, writing for both local newspapers and national news sites. Claire covers a wide variety of topics, with a special focus on cars, technology, planes, cryptocurrency, and luxury.
