After the bold unveiling of the final version of the Porsche Taycan, the German manufacturer announced the start of production of the first customer cars on 9 September 2019.
The new all-electric flagship will be made at a new production facility (within Zuffenhausen site), which was under construction for almost four years.
"The construction project included several individual subprojects, each itself with considerable scope. The result was a body shop, a paint shop, a plant for the production of electric motors and components, a vehicle assembly hall and the connecting transport technology."
"The total area of the buildings amounts to 170,000 square metres."
Porsche underlines the modernity of the plant, described as "flexible, networked and using 4.0 production technology" and envisioned as CO₂-neutral, thanks to renewable electricity sources, biogas to generate heat and energy-efficient buildings.
Porsche production
It's not yet known how high the production volume might be - initially we heard 20,000 per year, but later 40,000 was rumored. The number might also include the derivatives of the Taycan.
Considering sales of 256,255 cars in 2018, there is a chance that the Taycan will allow Porsche to get closer to 300,000 cars per year.
"Start of construction at the end of 2015
The positive response to the motor show presentation of the Mission E concept car in September 2015 marked the start of the largest construction project since the Zuffenhausen plant was first established. In the same year, the ground-breaking ceremony was held for the new body shop, where the high-strength yet lightweight bodies for the Taycan and the current eighth generation of the 911 will be built. In May 2016, old buildings gave way to create space for the new paint shop and the multi-storey assembly building. “There were several sustainability requirements imposed by the city of Stuttgart,” says Jürgen King, Head of Central Building, Environmental and Energy Management at Porsche, “and Porsche extended these. For example, we processed the material from the demolished halls on site and reused it for the new buildings.”Preparation of the construction work alone required 21 individual preliminary projects and more than 5,000 employee relocations. This also included the excavation pit for the multi-storey assembly building located on a slope: since its height is limited to 38 metres so as not to impair the flow of fresh air to Stuttgart city centre from the north, the pit is 25 metres deep. 240,000 cubic meters of earth were moved for this purpose.A new factory inside a factory“We’ve built a factory inside a factory – in the middle of the city and close to our neighbours, in the most confined of spaces, in the shortest possible time and without disrupting the existing sports car production facility running at full capacity. Now the factory has been completed on schedule and without any major setbacks,” says Albrecht Reimold. “This was possible due to meticulous planning and an excellent team.” A total of 130 companies and suppliers were part of that team. One of the logistical masterpieces was coordinating the construction site traffic without impairing the significant regular flow at the plant. “Close dialogue with our neighbours was also crucial,” says Reimold. “We kept them fully up-to-date on developments throughout the entire course of the project.”Some more figures: 10,000 construction site passes were issued, 530 construction site containers and three kilometres of site fencing were erected, and 35 kilometres of site power cables were laid, including power for the 1,000 linear luminaires distributed throughout the construction sites. Four kilometres of new road were also built within the plant."
Punctual start of production for the Porsche Taycan