Don’t get confused by news that Volkswagen formally took over the Porsche Holding. They did, but Porsche Holding Salzburg is just one of the complicated web of Porsche companies. And quite an interesting one.
Porsche Holding Salzburg (PHS) is not only the sole Austrian importer of all things Volkswagen. They also are one of the largest car dealer groups in Europe, and most certainly the most successful one. The PHS network covers all of Europe and reaches all the way to China. Last year, PHS moved 565,000 vehicles worth €12.78 billion. There are many car manufacturers on this planet who wish they would have those numbers.
According to a Volkswagen press release, Volkswagen got PHS at a reasonable price of only €3.3 billion. For that, Volkswagen will get all automobile operations of PHS, the wholesale and retail business, Porsche Informatik, Porsche Bank, Porsche Immobilien and Porsche Versicherung (real estate and insurance) as well as PGA Motors headquartered in Paris.
The amalgamation of the Porsche sports car business still has to wait until some legal hurdles are out of the way.
Equally interesting, they moved from selling only VW Group brands into peddling Renaults, Dacias, and others, too. Not in all markets but still.