VW CEO Winterkorn and chariman Piech
Volkswagen's merger with Porsche
will generate a combined 700 million euros (£603m) in savings every year according to VW group CEO Martin Winterkorn. In response to criticism from analysts that the projections were too ambitious, the VW boss has reaffirmed the expected savings for both the sports car maker and VW were 'very realistic'.
We hope this doesn't mean British Leyland-style badge engineering or too much parts sharing - there's enough of that already with the Cayenne and Touareg SUVs - although we definitely wouldn't mind a Panamera with a Lamborghin/Audi-sourced V10...
The financial troubles (read 'massive debt') of Porsche SE - the parent company of the sports car business - means that VW cannot fully integrate Porsche into its empire immediately, although Hans Dieter Poetsch, VW's Chief Financial Officer, told a German newspaper that the merger could be sped up if the economic climate were to improve sufficiently.
At least the car side of things is going well
VW is already exerting its influence on Porsche, however.
Having already deposed Porsche's CEO and CFO
, VW's senior executives will, from September, also be in charge of affairs at Porsche.
Despite Porsche SE's financial difficulties, which include a 5 billion euro (£4.3bn) loss, the sports car side of the business - Porsche AG - remains healthy.
Porsche AG's new CEO, Michael Macht, even suggested that Porsche could boost annual sales to around 150,000 units if they added a fifth model line. Macht would not comment further, but this could mean that a front-engined V8 coupe - the oft-rumoured spiritual successor to the 928 - is close to becoming a reality.
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