The 100,000th second generation Cayenne SUV, the most popular Porsche in Qatar as well as the rest of Middle East and Africa, has been assembled in Leipzig, Germany. Out of 7,949 cars sold in the region by the German luxury automaker in 2011, marking a 16.2% increase over 2010, Cayenne accounted for as much as 61%. “The Cayenne continues to be the most popular luxury SUV in Qatar,” a spokesman for Porsche Centre Doha told Gulf Times yesterday. Wolfgang Leimgruber, member, executive board of production and logistics, said in a statement that 10 years ago the success story of Porsche Leipzig started. “What was a green field site, today ranks among the most modern car plants in the world,” he recalled. In addition to the Cayenne, Leipzig is also where Porsche produces the very successful Panamera luxury saloon, approximately 70,000 units of which have now rolled off the production line. “More than 93,800 vehicles left the Porsche plant in Leipzig in 2011, more than in any year before,” Leimgruber added. The 100,000th Cayenne is being shipped to Brazil, where the SUV in “pure white” with a V8 engine will be handed over to its new owner. The Cayenne is being sold in more than 124 markets in currently five model variants spanning a power range from 245hp to 500hp and an average fuel consumption ranging from 7.2 to 11.5 litres per 100km. The second generation of the Cayenne has been produced in Leipzig since 2009 with the sports car manufacturer delivering over 360,00 units of the first generation to customers since 2002. Because of the consistently high demand for the Cayenne and Panamera, a third production shift has been added in Leipzig, ramping up the daily production to 500 vehicles on average. Building work for a major expansion of the plant is currently underway. A paint shop and body assembly line for Cajun, the fifth model line of Porsche, that will start to come off the Leipzig production line from the end of 2013 onward are among the facilities being built on a 17 hectare site. Porsche is investing a total of 500mn euro in the production site in Saxony for assembly of the smaller SUV, creating more than 1,000 new jobs. Described as light and easy-to-handle, the Cajun is pegged as an attractive entry-level model, expected to pave the way for new, even younger customers to enter the world of Porsche. Gulf Times

Follow us on our social media channels: @ILQlive @ILQlive @ILoveQtr ILoveQatar