Workers at Porsche's Leipzig plant took a mere decade to produce 500,000 vehicles. The milestone model was a white V8-powered Porsche Cayenne that was converted into a command vehicle for the city's fire department. Fittingly, the very first vehicle to roll off the assembly line in 2002 was also a Cayenne.

Photo: Porsche

''Half a million vehicles in only ten years is a remarkable result for a luxury car manufacturer like Porsche. Behind the success is a strong workforce now numbering 1,005 employees at our production facility in Saxony. I am impressed by the high degree of technical expertise of our Leipzig colleagues. They send forth into the world the seal of quality ‘Made in Germany’ and with it a piece of Leipzig,'' said Matthias Müller, President and CEO of Porsche AG.

Leipzig will also be home to the Porsche Macan, whose production will start at the end of 2013. The German automaker will make significant upgrades to the assembly plant in order to build this new model, representing an investment of more than €500 million and the creation of approximately 1,000 jobs in the medium term.