Stuttgarts buy the folks from Wolfsburg

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http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/3/story.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10523231
BRUSSELS - Porsche SE has won European antitrust clearance to take control of Europe's biggest car maker, Volkswagen AG. The decision may add pressure on the German state of Lower Saxony to relinquish its veto rights over VW decisions.

Porsche is Volkswagen's biggest shareholder with more than 30 per cent of its shares. It has said it is confident that it can continue building up its stake.

The commission saw no problems nor any issues for car parts suppliers or car showrooms because the two companies focus on different parts of the car market. Porsche make sports cars and sports utility vehicles while Volkswagen produces a wide range of passenger cars and commercial vehicles.

The European Commission made no mention of a dispute over a nearly 50-year law that an EU court ruled illegal last year. The European Court of Justice said the law violates companies' right to invest anywhere across Europe because "significant decisions" need the support of 80 per cent of Volkswagen's stock, plus one share.

Porsche is calling for that threshold to be lowered to 75 per cent in keeping with standard German securities laws.

EU regulators took legal action against Germany in June to force it to scrap the rule, saying the draft of a new law also does not stop the government from keeping a blocking minority in the car maker.

Germany has stressed that it would comply with the EU court ruling, in particular scrapping a provision that capped shareholders' voting rights at 20 per cent, whatever the size of their holding. The EU has said that does not go far enough.
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It is said Porsche only bought enough to own 51% of the company.
 
I find it ironic that a company that started by making hopped up beetles bought it.. :lol: Oh well, maybe this will lead to new and true beetle with RR configuration instead of yet another Golf-platform variation..💡
 
The only effect this will have is on Porsche and the fact that nobody can tell them what or what not to do anymore.
 
Quite right, and I also believe this is a major loophole for them to escape any kind of emissions or fuel economy regulations, given that the VW models they have will fill out the bottom-end. Its a smart move on their behalf, but the trick is going to be getting every brand to be profitable.

...Hopefully someone at Porsche is smart enough to attempt to "fix" the North American market...
 
Now they have no excuse to make Cayennes, can scrap sedan plans, and in return we can stop asking for $30,000 Porsches.

Audis will now have to sandbag in the ALMS races (although LMP2 Porsches were beating them about half the time anyhow).
 
A couple of more major things are allowed to Porsche by this:
It gives Piech control of VAG again, and it will allow Porsche to whether economic downturns far better than in the early 90s.
 
Whatever it is, it's good for Porsche...what will it do for the R8? I don't see it existing beyond one generation.
 
It really depends on who you ask. I think Porsche will at least reevaluate its position considering the amount of fire coming from Nissan.
 
Jim Prower
Whatever it is, it's good for Porsche...what will it do for the R8? I don't see it existing beyond one generation.
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Well, to be honest, we're likely going to see a massive simplification of the entire VAG company line...

- SEAT: They could stay or go. No matter how "profitable" Forza2.0 may tell us they are, the problem is that they step on VW and Skoda's toes, and Porsche doesn't want wasted market share.

- Skoda: I can see Porsche pumping the brand up in Eastern Europe, and depending on whether or not SEAT sticks around, it could become the bottom-rung company.

- VW: If Peich is playing around, its a tough call. This is the global basis of the company, so there is going to be a bunch of money dumped in, and we're going to see VW remain fairly close to where they are now... Better than most of your average Hondas and Toyotas, but certainly short of their more premium models. The main goal is going to be profitability, and again, we're likely to see models fall if they do not meet sales expectations. Eos/Tiguan anyone? I'd also be willing to bet that we'll see a consistent global VW lineup as well.

- Audi: With Porsche is the fold, I can see Audi being knocked down a little bit (but not much). I don't think we'll see a return to how "bad" things were with the MKIV/B5 days as far as platform and parts sharing goes, but again with profitability as a main concern, things are going to need to be consolidated a bit. The R8 will remain, there aren't any bones about that. I don't think they'll cap performance either, because if someone buys a Porsche or an Audi, the money goes to the same place. My guess is that they'll develop the car to have a very different driving experience, but nothing too radical.

- Porsche: I can't see any major changes other than dropping the Cayanne. The Panamera is still go.

- Lamborghini: Given that Lamborghini caters to a different audience by comparison to Porsche, I can't see the Italians being reeled in too much. That being said, I'd expect parts sharing to increase a bit with Audi (already in the process). Profitability, again...

- Bugatti: I'd say this division is "up in the air" just like SEAT. The Bugatti folks say their next car will be profitable, but with the Veyron already costing them millions of dollars, I'd expect things to be reeled in a bit. I'd be banking on a W12-powered car based on the Lamborghini LP640 chassis, with the AWD, and probably a Porsche-sourced PDK gearbox. We'll see.
 
YSSMAN
- Bugatti: I'd say this division is "up in the air" just like SEAT.
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I doubt it. With Piech back in charge, Bugatti will stay exactly where it is, profitability be damned. Remember, the Veyron design and development was his "retirement project," as was buying the brand in the first place.
 
Toronado
I doubt it. With Piech back in charge, Bugatti will stay exactly where it is, profitability be damned. Remember, the Veyron design and development was his "retirement project," as was buying the brand in the first place.
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Which, imo, means he won't think for a second about wasting even more money & spending even more time on a Veyron Roadster/Convertible/Targa/etc.
 
I would suppose that is true. I just can't imagine what the other Porsche overlords would think about that...
 
YSSMAN
I would suppose that is true. I just can't imagine what the other Porsche overlords would think about that...
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My thoughts would be, "Why Piech"? It wasn't that long ago after the Veyron launched that Porsche said they had something in the works. Thus, I would have to ask Piech, are you going to develop a new Veyron variation (& would it be one of those Roadsters, a cheaper model, or that race car that was predicted?), or are you going to develop the rumored Porsche supercar?
 
I can't see that lasting long either. When I read the story on Autoblog, my first thought was "Cayman, anyone?"
 
It wouldn't make sense Audi making a mid-engine TT under Porsche's control, so I agree with you both. Apart from the R8, what history do Audi have of mid-engine cars? Maybe an Auto Union or two but nobody who buys modern Audis gives much of a stuff about their history I'd reckon. And I think the sort of people who buy TTs would prefer the extra space of a front-engine layout. I mean... where would they put their golf clubs otherwise?...
 

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