Reasons for delay in production of Porsche 911 GTS (992.2)
Recently, I've been seeing some rumors that production of the new 992.2 generation Porsche 911 GTS is delayed (I'm seeing rumors overseas, but it looks like there are delays in the domestic version as well).
I was curious about this, so I looked into it a bit, and it seems that the root cause is financial difficulties at Varta, the manufacturer that makes the batteries used in the hybrid GTS.
In chronological order:
The new Porsche 911 GTS, which uses this Varta battery, was announcedMay 28, 2024That thing.
And soon after thatJuly 21, 2024In 2013, Varta filed for pre-bankruptcy restructuring under the Framework Act on Stabilization and Reorganization of Enterprises (StaRUG) in order to avoid bankruptcy for the long term.Here is the press release issued by Varta (PDF))
Furthermore, after thatAugust 17, 2024In 2013, Porsche AG announced that it would further strengthen its existing strategic partnership with Varta.
The contents at this time are roughly as follows:
- Porsche plans to acquire majority stake in V4Drive Battery GmbH
- Porsche expresses intention to participate in VARTA AG's financial restructuring
- Porsche's investment amount is 30 million euros (approximately 4.88 billion yen)
- Completion of the majority acquisition of V4Drive is subject to antitrust approvals in various countries and the successful financial restructuring of Varta AG
something like.
...So, the current delay in GTS production is an issue, but what this means is that although Porsche announced in August that it would help Varta, it is taking time because of the need for antitrust approval, etc. (?), and Varta is still in financial difficulties without being able to be rebuilt.
However, here we areOctober 7, 2024Finally, Varta announced that it had secured a 60 million euro (approximately 9.75 billion yen) loan from Porsche and Michael Tojner, one of Varta AG's major shareholders.
However, the agreement still requires antitrust approval, and Varta plans to finalize its restructuring plan this month and obtain approval from the Restructuring Court by the end of 2024.
Porsche has reportedly signed a short-term bridge loan agreement worth €30 million with some of its syndicated lenders to secure funding until the restructuring process is completed.
NextOctober 9, 2024It was announced that Porsche will now invest in Varta's large-capacity lithium-ion battery business by acquiring a majority stake in Varta's automotive battery subsidiary, V4Drive Battery GmbH. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of next year, pending regulatory approval.
Both announcements on October 7th and 9th state that Porsche will cooperate in rebuilding Varta, but the details are slightly different (I believe that's my understanding. I apologize if my understanding is incorrect as there is still little information available).
One is part of Varta's restructuring plan and the other is to support the restructuring of its battery manufacturing division.
First of all, why did Porsche choose VARTA batteries for the 992.2 despite knowing that it was in financial difficulty?
The question here is, when Varta filed for pre-bankruptcy rehabilitation immediately after the GTS was announced, and Porsche immediately announced its intention to strengthen its cooperation with Varta, surely Porsche must have known that Varta was in financial difficulties to begin with?
It's possible that Porsche was completely unaware of this, and only after the bankruptcy rehabilitation procedure was filed did they realize, "Oh, that's too late now for that!" and hastily took steps to save the company (or maybe not, lol).
However, I think Porsche entrusted the production of future Porsche batteries to Varta in order to help the company, which was in financial difficulty. I think they are also used in hybrid models such as the Cayenne.
One reason is that Varta has the high technology that Porsche requires, and the other is a sense of mission that German battery manufacturers should not be allowed to go out of business. What do you think?
In any case, it is unclear how much movement will occur with the short-term bridge loan agreements, but since approval is required for each of the actual investment processes to be carried out, movement may be slow for some time until the end of 2024 at the earliest, or the first quarter of 2025.
Source:
◆VARTA AG announces financial reorganization with StaRUG proceedings
◆(Official) Porsche and Varta deepen strategic partnership
◆Varta secures $65 mln from Porsche and shareholder Tojner
◆Varta seals auto battery investment from Porsche
◆VARTA AG signs agreement with Porsche regarding investment in business unit for large-format lithium-ion cells
Related article:Porsche 911 (992.2 type) world premiere: 911 Carrera and GTS unveiled
I'm Rika, the author of this article. Ever since Porsche 911 became my favorite car, I've become totally addicted to Porsche, and I can't stop loving Porsche, so I started this blog. My favorite cars are 911 Carrera (991.2), 911 Carrera Cabriolet (992.1), and 911 Carrera T (992.1).
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