Porsche is moving one step closer to digital transformation. The Stuttgart-based sportscar manufacturer has now opened the Porsche Digital Lab in Berlin, which will be used to identify and test innovative information technology solutions. The Lab provides a platform for collaboration with technology companies, start-ups and the scientific community. Porsche is partnering with its subsidiary, the Ludwigsburg-based company MHP – one of the leading management and IT consultants in the automotive industry.
“We are launching our initiative in the context of profound change in the industry. Digital transformation touches every part of the company – internal processes, customer interaction and our products and services. Vehicles are becoming more and more networked and mobility concepts have changed, sparking a revolution in the automotive industry and bringing new competitors into play. In this environment, Porsche is aiming to become the most innovative brand in the field of exclusive and dynamic mobility”, says Lutz Meschke, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board and Member of the Executive Board, Finance and IT.
The Porsche Digital Lab is located in the Berlin district of Friedrichshain. It employs several teams from Porsche and MHP, each of which is tasked with investigating how Porsche can take innovations from 
the fields of big data & machine learning, micro services & cloud technologies, and Industry 4.0 & the Internet of Things, and turn them into practical solutions. The tasks of these teams range from trend scouting and ideation to building IT prototypes and components. The work demands a creative approach and requires close contact with innovative technology companies. Berlin is home to a flourishing start-up scene, making it the ideal location for the Lab. “The Porsche Digital Lab gives us the opportunity to experiment with new technologies and to put IT innovations into practice with speed and flexibility”, says Dr. Sven Lorenz, Vice President of Porsche Information Systems.
The Porsche Digital Lab follows hot on the heels of Porsche Digital GmbH, which was recently established in Ludwigsburg. In contrast to the Digital Lab, which focuses on testing and the deployment of digital technologies in the company, Porsche Digital GmbH is centred around products and services for the customer. Networked mobility, intuitive control concepts and the vehicle architectures of tomorrow are the key elements of a digital ecosystem in which a host of new services and business models are developed. Digital Lab and Digital GmbH will work hand-in-hand on future projects.
