Porsche 2011 Annual Report Download - page 75

chemical exhaust air purification system developed
jointly with suppliers is being used for the first time in
the automobile industry. Another joint development is a
suction/blowing device designed to clean bodywork
for which a patent application has been filed.
High product quality in the Volkswagen group
The Volkswagen group produced 8,494,280
vehicles in the period from 1 January to 31 December
2011. In the prior year, 7,357,505 vehicles were built.
Customers are satisfied and loyal when their
expectations of a product or service are met or even
exceeded. Crucial to this is the quality perceived by
the customer over the entire product experience; this
includes in particular reliability, appeal and service.
Only when the Volkswagen group surprises and ex-
cites its customers in all these areas does it win them
over with outstanding quality.
In spite of the large number of production
start-ups, it was possible to maintain the high quality
level of the previous year in 2011 across all group
brands and locations, and keep the number of repairs
at a consistently low level.
In addition to preventive process stability and
product reliability, customer satisfaction is the main
theme in quality assurance at Volkswagen. The pri-
mary focus in 2011 was to refine the program for
raising customer satisfaction, which is already estab-
lished across business areas. Its goals include incor-
porating insights from product usage into the planning
for future products. This way it is ensured that cus-
tomer requirements are taken into account at this
early and important phase. The knowledge gained is
not only factored into the development of new vehi-
cles, but also permanently reflected on series produc-
tion for established models. The necessary informa-
tion for this is primarily acquired through studies and
customer surveys.
The Volkswagen group’s production locations
The production network of the Volkswagen
group expanded by 31 facilities as a result of the
acquisition of the majority stake in MAN SE. At the
end of the reporting period it consisted of 94 sites, of
which 54 produce vehicles. The sites are spread out
over the continents of Europe, North and South Amer-
ica, Africa and Asia.
The Volkswagen group's efficient production
network is composed of vehicle and component
plants that form an integrated group and cover pre-
dominantly regional needs. The effects of external
factors such as currency fluctuations and customs
duties can thus be kept to a minimum. Assembly
partners in Indonesia, Russia and Malaysia are also
part of this global production network. These part-
ners assemble vehicles on behalf of the Volkswagen
group and are part of the concept for extending
production capacity.
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