Possibilities to develop
As of 1 March 2011, Porsche Holding Salzburg (PHS) became a 100 % subsidiary of Volkswagen AG and hence an integral element of the most successful European automobile manufacturer. It brought full circle the historical development that began with Ferdinand Porsche's design of the Volkswagen and which formed the basis for the successful evolution of the two Porsche companies in Salzburg and in Stuttgart that today are a considerable part of this group as a whole. Porsche and Piëch, the two original shareholding families, continue to be significantly involved in the on-going development of the automotive group, holding key positions as principal stakeholders in Volkswagen AG and as members of the supervisory board.
Through integration into the Volkswagen Group, Porsche Holding in Salzburg was given new sales responsibilities, which in turn triggered rapid growth within the company starting in 2012.
New import responsibilities in the CEE countries
In 2012, PHS assumed overall market responsibility for the Czech Republic, making Porsche Cesca republika behind Austria the second largest importer within the company. At the same time, the brands also saw expansion in some markets in Eastern Europe, such as in Albania with Volkswagen passenger cars as well as in Ukraine and Slovakia with SEAT. By creating Porsche Croatia in 2013, PHS takes over 100% of the market responsibility in Croatia for the passenger car Group brands.
Taking over import operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 2015 was a further step in Porsche Holding's growth strategy. It is thus represented as the importer in all the successor states of the former Yugoslavia.
First experience in the South American market
Initial steps have also been undertaken in South America in 2012. In Colombia, PHS launched its import activities with Volkswagen passenger cars, Volkswagen trucks & buses as well as with MAN trucks. Followed by Chile in 2013 where PHS imports Volkswagen passenger cars & LCV's, Audi, Skoda, Volkswagen trucks & buses as well as MAN trucks, gathering first experiences within the truck business.
Rapid growth in retail
The Volkswagen Group entrusted PHS with responsibility for its 200 own dealerships in Germany, Spain and Poland.
PHS is also expanding its network of retailers in China and is set to oversee 20 retailers by the end of 2013.
Expansion towards ASEAN region
Porsche Holding launches its first distribution operations in the ASEAN region, taking over import business for Volkswagen Passenger Cars in Malaysia in September 2016 and in Singapore in April 2017.
France: retail operations reorganised
In summer 2017 Porsche Holding Salzburg reorganised its sales operations in France, selling all of the PGA dealerships that carried models by non-Group manufacturers. The newly founded Volkswagen Group Retail France (VGRF) brought together all the retail dealerships that exclusively sell Volkswagen Group brands. At the end of 2017 all the signs were pointing towards growth again: Porsche Holding Salzburg acquired a group of private dealerships in northern France.
In 2018 Porsche Holding Salzburg pushed ahead with strategic growth by acquiring several independent dealers in Northern Italy.
Its subsequent expansion step was in Japan: at the start of 2019 Porsche Holding signed an agreement to acquire Volkswagen Group-owned dealership operations in Japan.
In October 2019, Porsche Holding Salzburg took over the Portuguese Importeur Sociedade de Importacão de Veiculos Automitiveis (SIVA), assuming market responsibility for the Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Volkswagen Light Commercial Vehicles, Audi, ŠKODA, Bentley and Lamborghini brands in Portugal. At the same time, SOAUTO, the importer's own retail business with eleven retail dealerships in Lisbon and Porto, was transferred to PHS.
Financial services
Porsche Bank has also enlarged its range of services while significantly increasing its presence across large parts of Europe and in South America.
IT business
Porsche Informatik has also benefitted from the company's rapid growth. CROSS, the dealer management system developed by Porsche Informatik, is slated to become the global standard within the Volkswagen Group.
Porsche Holding Salzburg continued on its strategic growth path in the Corona year 2020. This included the expansion of the brand portfolio in Portugal with SEAT and CUPRA as well as takeovers, such as the Volkswagen Group's own Audi retail business in Tokyo and Osaka, the Erre Esse Group in Turin and the Auto Wichert dealerships in Hamburg. At the same time, Porsche Holding completed its largest retail investment with Porsche Wien Liesing, it covered a total of 70 million euros.
Despite the challenging economic conditions, Porsche Holding Salzburg continued its growth in 2021. In Italy, the takeover of the dealerships of Rinaldi S.p.A in Piedmont and Baistrocchi S.p.A. new locations for Eurocar Italia in Emilia-Romagna took place. In autumn, the Suffren car dealership located near the Eiffel Tower in France became part of the sales network of Volkswagen Group Retail France. In Berlin, the German sales network of VGRD was expanded with the Möbus car dealership.
Porsche Holding Salzburg continued its growth and investment course with a sense of proportion in the third year of the crisis. At the same time, it further expanded its presence in strategic markets such as China, Japan and Germany. In Switzerland, the company entered the market with a Porsche dealership on Lake Zurich.
Porsche Holding Salzburg proved robust in 2023, even in volatile times - despite geopolitical unrest, an economic downturn accompanied by inflation and persistent inflation as well as consumer reluctance to buy. As a result, the eventful automotive year 2023 ended successfully and profitably and, after the decline in the coronavirus year 2020, a new record high was achieved for the third time in a row with sales of 29.4 billion euros.
