STUTTGART, GERMANY – Porsche may build cars with Volkswagen and its luxury unit, Audi, at a new U.S. assembly plant that Alabama hopes to land, a German newspaper reports. Handelsblatt, citing unidentified sources, said building in tandem at one U.S. site would highlight the potential for the automobile “empire” of the Piech and Porsche families, who through their holdings in Porsche are the largest shareholders in Volkswagen, according to www.al.com.

The newspaper also cites an interview with Volkswagen Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn, who said plans for a U.S. assembly plant will likely be presented to the company’s supervisory board before the end of July. Volkswagen said last month it is considering sites in Alabama, Tennessee, and Michigan for a potential plant and expects to make an announcement this summer. Analysts have picked Alabama’s Limestone County and
Chattanooga, Tenn., as likely front-runners for the project.

Audi Chief Executive Rupert Stadler has confirmed several times that he was looking at cooperating with parent Volkswagen to build vehicles in the
United States. He recently told shareholders that the company would benefit tremendously from such a plan as it struggles with a strong euro, Reuters reported last week.