Automotive company, Volkswagen has planned an initial investment of some 460 million euro in to convert the Wolfsburg site into a highly productive e-mobility factory by the beginning of 2025.
CEO Thomas Schafer announced that the investment is primarily earmarked for preparations to produce the new ID.3.
The compact electric car will be leaving the assembly line in Wolfsburg from 2023 – initially in partial production, with full production slated from 2024. Ramp-up is due for completion by the end of 2025.
The necessary training measures for the workforce are currently being prepared. After that, it is expected that an additional all-electric model for the booming SUV segment will boost Wolfsburg’s capacity utilization for EV production over the long term.
The technical basis for the new model is the Modular Electric Drive System (MEB). Volkswagen’s e-car platform is to undergo substantial further development as the MEB+, thus becoming even more efficient.
This will be followed by a further pillar for the Wolfsburg site, the Trinity vehicle project. It will be based on the future Group-wide Scalable Systems Platform (SSP). By the end of 2033 at the latest, the Volkswagen brand will only build electric cars in Wolfsburg – as in all of its other factories in Europe.
Thomas Schafer, CEO of the Volkswagen brand and Group Board Member for the Volume brand group, said: “We are working closely with the Works Council to bring a further electric model based on the MEB+ to Wolfsburg – this will be a high-volume model for the booming SUV segment. With these strong decisions and investments, we intend to bolster the competitiveness of this factory further and give the workforce a concrete long-term perspective.”
Works Council Chairwoman Daniela Cavallo added that “Wolfsburg will remain the brand’s – and the Group’s – powerhouse in the coming years with the transformation to electric production, an additional all-electric model by 2026, along with Trinity and the SSP.”
The first step towards the factory’s electric future involves re-equipping the site for the ID.301. This electric model will begin leaving the assembly line in Wolfsburg from 2023 – in addition to current production in Zwickau. For the largest factory in the entire Volkswagen Group, this is the first all-electric vehicle based on the MEB.
Brand CEO Thomas Schäfer indicated there are plans to produce a further model based on the MEB at the main factory in the future. This model would be an all-electric SUV. “That is the largest vehicle segment worldwide, it is home to our popular Tiguan. The new model would ideally complement our bestselling ID.4 and ID.5. This is how we intend to expand our market position further and give our customers the high-quality vehicles they expect from us,” Schäfer outlined.
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