Earlier this week, Porsche and Audi announced they would work together on some aspects to help cut costs. The sports car maker will also work with Bentley for similar reasons.
The news comes from Oliver Blume, the CEO of Porsche, who explained that this is a wide-ranging plan that is highly detailed. The official also stated that the project has been thought out, and that it is meant to help save costs for the Wolfsburg conglomerate wherever possible.
Mr. Blume coordinates the Sport/Luxury group within the corporation, so it was evident that a collaboration like this would reach the boardrooms of the German giant at some point. The cost-cutting plan hopes to bring annual savings of about EUR 100 million ($106 million) for the VW Group starting next year.
Instead of sharing platforms straight up, Porsche and Bentley will save money by operating collectively in financial services, sales structures, production, development, and quality assurance.
All of those aspects are important for an automaker, and the customers will not feel a negative difference in the products of any of the two brands.
As Automotive News remarks, there will be a few visible parts of the collaboration. One of them is the replacement of the Continental GT, which should get parts from the MSB platform, recently unveiled on the all-new Panamera. It is believed that Bentley’s first electric model, previewed by the EXP 12 Speed 6e Concept will get parts from Porsche.
Moreover, VW Group facilities in Slovakia and Germany will build parts for the 2018 Continental. Bentley will handle the final assembly, but the stampings will be made in Bratislava, while the Leipzig factory will manufacture the bodies on the same line as the Panamera.
In the meantime, the brand from Crewe already has a collaboration with Audi, which brought it 4.0-liter V8 engines. Similar synergies exist between the sports car marque from Zuffenhausen and its relative from Ingolstadt, but on different levels.
Mr. Blume coordinates the Sport/Luxury group within the corporation, so it was evident that a collaboration like this would reach the boardrooms of the German giant at some point. The cost-cutting plan hopes to bring annual savings of about EUR 100 million ($106 million) for the VW Group starting next year.
Instead of sharing platforms straight up, Porsche and Bentley will save money by operating collectively in financial services, sales structures, production, development, and quality assurance.
All of those aspects are important for an automaker, and the customers will not feel a negative difference in the products of any of the two brands.
As Automotive News remarks, there will be a few visible parts of the collaboration. One of them is the replacement of the Continental GT, which should get parts from the MSB platform, recently unveiled on the all-new Panamera. It is believed that Bentley’s first electric model, previewed by the EXP 12 Speed 6e Concept will get parts from Porsche.
Moreover, VW Group facilities in Slovakia and Germany will build parts for the 2018 Continental. Bentley will handle the final assembly, but the stampings will be made in Bratislava, while the Leipzig factory will manufacture the bodies on the same line as the Panamera.
In the meantime, the brand from Crewe already has a collaboration with Audi, which brought it 4.0-liter V8 engines. Similar synergies exist between the sports car marque from Zuffenhausen and its relative from Ingolstadt, but on different levels.