Porsche
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Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE ([ˈpɔʁʃə]), a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury high performance automobiles, which is majority-owned by the Piëch and Porsche families. Porsche SE is headquartered in Zuffenhausen, a city district of Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg.
Porsche SE has one main subsidiary – Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG (which stands for Doktor Ingenieur honoris causa Ferdinand Porsche Aktiengesellschaft), often shortened to Porsche AG, which is responsible for the actual production and manufacture of the Porsche automobile line. The company is also the majority shareholder in Volkswagen AG, the parent company of the Volkswagen Group, which includes (but is not limited to) the automotive marques Audi, Volkswagen, Bentley Motors, Bugatti Automobiles, Skoda,
Lamborghini and SEAT.
Overview
The company was founded as Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche GmbH in 1931 by Ferdinand Porsche, an Austro-Hungarian engineer born in Maffersdorf, Austria-Hungary (today Vratislavice nad Nisou, Czech Republic). Ferdinand Porsche is also known for designing the first Volkswagen, but Béla Barényi is credited with having conceived the basic design five years earlier. The company currently produces 911 (997), Boxster and Cayman sports cars and Cayenne sport utility vehicles. The latest model line, the four-door Panamera saloon (sedan), was launched on Monday, 20 April 2009.
In August 2009, Porsche SE and Volkswagen AG reached an agreement that the two companies would merge in 2011, to form an "Integrated Automotive Group".
Reputation
In a May 2006 survey, Porsche was awarded the title of the most prestigious automobile brand by Luxury Institute, New York; it questioned more than 500 households with a gross annual income of at least US $200,000 and a net worth of at least US $720,000. The current Porsche model range includes sports cars from the Boxster roadster to their most famous product, the 911. The Cayman is a hard top car similar to the Boxster in a slightly higher price range. The Cayenne is Porsche's mid-size luxury sport utility vehicle (SUV). The limited run Carrera GT ceased production in May 2006. A high