Porsche has confirmed it is in talks with Audi about where to build the next Audi A8, with the German carmaker's Leipzig plant emerging as the likely candidate. A report in Heilbronner Stimme says production could start there from 2030 at the earliest, possibly on a platform shared with the next-generation Panamera.
Nothing is signed. Porsche says only that the two brands are evaluating production scenarios for Audi's flagship sedan and has declined to give details, so the location, timing and platform all remain unconfirmed.
The talks matter because Audi had appeared to be winding the A8 down. The company stopped taking orders for the sedan, and industry analysts including Dataforce have tracked low registration volumes for the A8 and the S8 performance variant in Europe, although neither Dataforce nor Audi has publicly tied those figures to the order freeze.
Why Leipzig keeps coming up
Leipzig is not a random guess. Porsche's plant there already builds the Panamera and the Macan, and it is engineered to handle multiple powertrain types on the same lines. That flexibility would matter if Audi wants petrol, hybrid and electric versions of a future A8.
A shared platform with the next Panamera would be the bigger shift. Pairing Audi's flagship with Porsche's own luxury sedan architecture would let Volkswagen Group spread development costs across more cars at a time when every large project is under budget pressure.
What it means for Neckarsulm
The current A8 is built at Neckarsulm, a plant that has relied on the flagship sedan for decades. Moving a successor to Leipzig would be a significant change for that site, though no decision on the factory has been announced.
A pattern of reversals
A successor to the current car has been rumoured for the late decade before, and earlier plans have shifted more than once as Audi weighed demand against investment. The difference this time is that Porsche itself is confirming the talks rather than Audi deflecting questions about the car's fate.
Whether this ends in a Leipzig production plan, a different factory or another round of renegotiation is the detail nobody outside the two companies knows yet.
