The great boom
With the number of units imported climbing, Porsche also grew as a whole. The retail division, for instance - later Porsche Inter Auto (PIA) - first took shape in the early 1950s and became increasingly more defined during the 1960s. Alpenstraße in Salzburg had served as the starting point and over the years branch operations sprung up in Wiener Neustadt (managed by Ernst Piëch, engineer, the oldest son of Louise Piëch), Zell am See, Kapfenberg and in many other locations. Today PIA comprises 56 dealerships in Austria.
Signs of a rise
In 1956 the workshop at the railway station alongside the new customer service building were opened, which was dubbed "Porschehof I" and later nicknamed "the blue building". In 1962 Porschehof II was built at Fanny-von-Lehnert Straße, and with its blue VW emblem on the roof signalled to all exactly where VW could be found in Salzburg.
International motorsport successes
Porsche Salzburg also made a name for itself through its motorsport activities. The Formula V sports car created a furore in the late 1960s and the Porsche 917 triumphed at Le Mans for Porsche Salzburg, garnering them their first overall victory for the Porsche brand. Years later the Rally Beetles also attracted considerable attention, winning at the Elba Rally.
On the road to success with new ideas
The intensified expansion of the automotive product range in the years that followed laid the groundwork for the success Porsche Holding enjoys today. The introduction of the vehicle rental service in 1962 and the leasing business in 1966 gave Porsche an early start in the services sector and, with the help of creative advertising, let the by that time aging Beetle achieve new sales records.
