Porsche committed to smarter EV production with modern factories in Leipzig, Stuttgart

An overview of Porsche's plant in the German city of Leipzig / Courtesy of Porsche

LEIPZIG, STUTTGART, Germany — On a vast area of land in the populous German city of Leipzig stands Porsche’s iconic manufacturing facility for not only luxury cars with internal combustion engines, but also electric vehicles (EVs).

The Leipzig plant is located near the 32-meter-long diamond-shaped Porsche Experience Centre, where newly produced Porsche vehicles are tested at an eye-catching racetrack.

Porsche added the Macan Electric to its lineup of vehicles produced at the smart and automated production line, ensuring manufacturing flexibility in this period of auto paradigm shift toward the mass adoption of EVs. The facility was busy assembling the strategic electric SUVs and Panamera luxury sedans.

A chassis and powertrain for Porsche's Macan Electric are connected during the vehicle's marriage process at the carmaker's factory in Leipzig, Germany. Courtesy of Porsche

The Leipzig factory is home to Porsche’s much-touted “marriage” manufacturing process. The marriage is a type of an all-automated assembly process, in which vehicles’ chassis and powertrains are integrated by robots without any help from a human labor force.

Porsche undertook major renovations at the Leipzig factory for solid and speedy manufacturing of the Macan Electric. The plant used to operate four assembly processes, but Porsche widened it to nine to support mass production of the electric SUV.

“We have also introduced a state-of-the art inspection system with a camera to ensure whether chassis and powertrains are connected during the marriage process with any minor error,” an official from Porsche said during a tour of the facility, May 13.

Shattering prejudice on typical factories, the Leipzig production line was more than quiet and clean due to the automated assembly procedures.

An overview of Porsche's symbolic manufacturing facility in Zuffenhausen, Stuttgart / Courtesy of Porsche

Porsche also gave a tour of its Stuttgart production line, where the carmaker assembles its flagship Taycan EVs. The facility is most famous as a production hub for Porsche’s much-sought-after 911 sports cars.

The factory is located in Stuttgart’s borough of Zuffenhausen. The facility has a long history of more than seven decades, having served as the carmaker’s symbolic production hub.

Calmness was the first impression during a guided tour on May 16 of a facility dedicated to producing Porsche’s Taycan EV. This was enabled by a group of automated guided vehicles which were busy carrying auto parts for each of Taycan’s assembly processes, making the facility look more modern than any typical manufacturing facilities.

“We produce around 350 to 400 Taycan EVs each day at this production line here,” Jens Brücker, vice president at Porsche’s Zuffenhausen factory, told reporters during the tour. “We have focused on maintaining our identity as a sports carmaker even for the production of our first EV — the Taycan.”

A robot arm installs the front glass into the frame of a Taycan electric sedan at Porsche’s factory in Zuffenhausen, Stuttgart. Courtesy of Porsche

The automated assembly is also a major feature for the facility. For instance, robot arms were seen connecting a front glass of Taycan into its frame. The process requires high accuracy, but the robot arm calculated the exact angle with agile movement before it starts assembling the glass into the body.

“We have set up an interface where human labor force can monitor any options and quality control status for each production phase, so we can say the factory is automated, but it is still human-centric,” he said.