I suppose they could always just do the assembly & tolerance spec checks here, instead of building manufacturing & production facilities. Worked for another European gun company for more than 20 years.
On the other hand, Walther's always put their emphasis on interest in LE/Gov sales in the international market. Considering the heavy competition in US sales for that market, I'd almost suspect they may "break ground" in the commercial sales market, at least for the time being.
Dunno. It'll be a little interesting to see how their own venture goes.
I'm wondering what they'll do with their warranty support for US customers. They've previously held to offering a 1-year warranty, with the exception of the PPQ, which,
for American buyers, they offered a limited lifetime warranty through Walther America.
I imagine that's only one of many details to be worked out as they get their new business up & running.
I rather like the Walther 99 design myself, specifically what they call the Anti-Stress action. My own pair are actually SW99's, although I've serviced & repaired both the SW99 & P99 guns over the years.
As an armorer I've tried to keep up with the ongoing revisions and refinements to the design, especially related to changes which have resulted in some parts/assemblies being different throughout various production periods. Things like changes in the dimensions of the sear housing block, as well as the change from a steel trigger bar guide post to an adjustable steel trigger bar guide lever (not interchangeable among frames made for the different sear housing blocks).
Now that Walther is planning to import their guns for themselves, which I'd hope would indicate an interest in increasing their sales & product in the US, I hope they'll eventually consider making a compact version of the PPQ, if only for the US market. Last time I asked, Carl Walther was reported to have no immediate plans to design a compact PPQ (seemingly indicating there wasn't enough interest among LE/Gov buyers at the international level, even though they offer a couple other compact variants).
Guess we'll see as time rolls on.