Winterkorn threatens to quit if Porsche interferes
Porsche is allegedly slowly increasing its stake in Volkswagen from the current 31% to a supposed figure of more than 50%, and the two companies have released a joint special edition version of the Volkswagen Caddy called the Volkswagen Caddy Carrera Cup Edition 2.0 TDI R, but the relationship between the two groups isn’t exactly a bed of roses, if German magazine Der Spiegel is right about what they just reported.
According to Der Spiegel, Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn has threatened to resign if Porsche interferes with Volkswagen Group operations, something which might happen as Audi and Audi-owned Lamborghini’s products are seen as direct competitors to Porsche products.
A photo of the Caddy Carrera Cup is available after the jump.
June 3, 2008 @ 1:24 am
wow, so serious.
their problem of internal cannibalization is growing i guess.
if i were the head fellow, i might consider selling it off. despite how profitable porsche is, if it does really start to interfere, i will wash it off my hands.
but thats never gonna happen to me.
so, we’ll see.
June 3, 2008 @ 1:45 am
uh… winterkorn cannot sell porsche off because volkswagen does not own porsche, it is the other way around.
June 3, 2008 @ 7:23 am
They are father and son. Porsche father is the man who design the Beatle and have some touch of Hitler actually. Well in business it is a war. Jangan menang jadi arang, kalah jadi abu.
June 3, 2008 @ 8:42 am
Even the cars under the group competed with each other- Audi R8 + 911 Turbo + Gallardo= a complete cannibal war.
June 3, 2008 @ 8:50 am
there is nothing winterkorn can do, he is only an employee.
whatever will happen, will happen.
June 3, 2008 @ 2:11 pm
I still remember reading an article on how Merc and BMW were pissed off with porsche when they introduced the cayanne because porsche started to steping into the territory controlled by the two german automakers. According to the article, it was a typical germans help germans understanding and none of the two automaker entered into the market of porsche. They also did not do a buy out on porsche in the 90s when it was about the collapse, but was actually indirectly trying to save porsche. It was an interesting article, but i cant remember the details.
June 3, 2008 @ 6:40 pm
It makes sense to have several brands of your own in the same segment. Why I say it makes sense is because if you lose, you’re most likely lose to yourself, making yourself a winner in that sense. Do I make any sense?
June 3, 2008 @ 8:53 pm
This what happens when small group of people try to control bigger group of people or in this case porche is a family business trying to take over VW. I don’t like the idea of porche saying, we throw away lambo’s cause they are a direct competitor. Porche is a boring boring design car. It looks the same since like 40 years ago?or maybe more
June 4, 2008 @ 10:46 am
azrai, I wouldn’t call it “Father and Son” per se. Even though the original Type I Volkswagen was based on Ferdinand Porsche’s design, the company was created by the Third Reich (the then government of Germany that Hitler just got into power) to fund the “People’s Car” project. So VW started as a GLC like our Proton.
And to put the record straight, the Porsche Type 12 designed by Ferdinand Porsche was the platform they used to create the Beetle. The Beetle’s design and styling was done by Porsche’s Chief Designer Erwin Komenda.