Porsche opens development centre in Shanghai
While other German car manufacturers have been operating production facilities and research centres in China for years, Porsche has largely managed its Chinese business from Stuttgart. However, as part of its ‘In China for China’ strategy, the company now wants to tailor its vehicles directly to local customer needs.
That is why Porsche opened its first integrated research and development centre outside Europe in Shanghai on 5 November. The first step in this direction was the opening of a Porsche Engineering office in Shanghai in 2014. However, Porsche is going much further with the new facility. More than 300 engineers and experts in the field of research and development work on the 10,000 square metre site.
Months instead of years of development time
Staff from procurement and quality management are also based there. The R&D centre is intended not only to be an extension of the development centre in Weissach, but also an ‘independent driver of innovation’. Specifically, this involves innovations for the Porsche China, Porsche Engineering China and Porsche Digital China divisions.
According to the sports car manufacturer, the development centre provides direct access to the significant innovation ecosystem of the Chinese market. The facility is therefore also intended to significantly shorten development times and adapt to the so-called ‘China speed’. The cycles are to be reduced from years to months. The first major project is a new infotainment system that is being developed specifically for China and is set to find its way into various Porsche model series from mid-2026.
Porsche has announced that the system will feature an AI voice assistant based on a large language model and offer deeper integration into the digital ecosystem of the Chinese industry. The aim is to meet the demands of local customers while preserving the brand’s DNA.
“China is leading the way in future mobility, combining electrification, digitalization, and new luxury concepts. Solving the challenges of this transformation isn’t possible from afar – it has to happen here. The China R&D is a strategic pillar that connects German engineering with China’s digital future. This center will help us move faster, learn more, and strengthen Porsche R&D globally,” said Oliver Blume, who will remain CEO of Porsche until the end of the year, at the opening ceremony. From January 2026, Blume will focus fully on his main job as CEO of the VW Group and hand over the management of VW subsidiary Porsche to Michael Leiters.
It is desperately necessary for the Zuffenhausen-based company to focus more on Chinese customer needs in future. Porsche’s delivery figures in the Chinese market in the first half of 2025 were the worst they have been in eleven years. Sales slumped by 28 per cent to just 21,302 cars during this period.
The sports car manufacturer has been struggling in the Chinese market for some time now, with domestic carmakers increasingly outstripping German premium manufacturers in the People’s Republic. This is also due to the fact that Porsche, for example, is hardly able to make its mark in terms of infotainment.
This article was first published by Elias Holdenried for electrive’s German edition.
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