In the early 1990s, Porsche found itself in one of the biggest economic crises in its history, selling only 23,060 cars. This forced the company to make a decision that will ensure its successful future. The new century has brought success, and since 2002 Porsche can thank its success to one of the SUV models, the Cayenne.

Celebrating 20 years of Cayenne, Detlev von Platen, Member of the Executive Board for Sales and Marketing at Porsche AG, said: “Cayenne has always been the main attraction of our brand – it has brought many new customers and fans from all over the world to Porsche over the past 20 years.”

Initially, Porsche’s management had high hopes for the 911 and Boxster models, but they realized that they were not enough, so they started thinking about a new model. The idea was born. On the recommendation of Porsche America, it was decided to create a sports SUV that will aim to fight competitors in the market.

The project was developed in collaboration with Volkswagen in 1998, and Porsche developed a new platform that was also used by the Volkswagen Touareg. A year later, the company decided to build a new factory in Leipzig, which officially opened in 2002. Only the body for the Cayenne was made at Volkswagen’s factory in Bratislava, and the final assembly was made in Saxony. The first two generations of the Porsche Cayenne came out of the production line in Leipzig and Osnabrück. After that, the production was moved to Bratislava, and the Panamera and Macan were produced in Leipzig.

Source: Porsche