Volkswagen drives forward electrification of its European plants
The Volkswagen Group today resolved to further electrify its European plants in pursuit of its goal of becoming global market leader in electric mobility by 2025. Thus, the Group vigorously drives forward the implementation of its NEW AUTO strategy. The Group headquarters and manufacturing site in Wolfsburg will be transformed and the Group’s competitiveness boosted through higher spending on future technologies. The future-oriented investments, which will be primarily in e-mobility and digitalization, will account for the largest proportion of total investments of EUR 159 billion for the first time, at 56 percent or EUR 89 billion. Volkswagen expects that by 2026 one in four vehicles sold will have a battery-electric drive system.
Electrification of more European plants
In comprehensively electrifying its European plants, the Volkswagen Group intends to generate additional synergies and take advantage of economies of scale.
The Group will invest around EUR 21 billion at its plants in Lower Saxony alone, most of which will be channeled into manufacturing sites and components facilities.
- In the medium term, Hanover will go all-electric, starting a modernization of the site. The Group’s currently most important forward-looking project will be set up in Hanover, where the first Artemis vehicle will be produced. Body manufacturing for a new Bentley model has also been confirmed. Another vehicle derivative, the ID. California1, has likewise been approved for the site. In addition, Hanover will spearhead autonomous driving in the Group with the MOIA shuttles and the ID. BUZZ AD1.
- Electrification of the Wolfsburg plant through Project Trinity has been confirmed. Given the strong demand for electric vehicles, the Group also plans to re-equip the site for full production of the ID.3 from 2024, ensuring profitability with a site package. Before 2024, partial production with supplies from Zwickau is envisaged. This plan will allow the Group to service additional market volumes that Zwickau alone would be unable to handle due to the good long-term capacity utilization forecasts.
- The German component plants will continue the transformation to e-mobility they initiated in 2015. Along with hardware for charging infrastructure, the Hanover plant will also produce axles for MEB models. In Braunschweig, Salzgitter and Kassel, the Group will invest in expanding the existing MEB production of battery systems, rotors/stators and electric motors. In addition, the plants are already preparing to manufacture key components of the SSP platform. Volkswagen is thus taking the next step in its strategic development into a key provider of electric modules and platforms.
- The Salzgitter site will be further expanded into a European battery hub. The Group will invest around EUR 2 billion to produce Volkswagen’s unified cell for the volume segment at its gigafactory in Lower Saxony from 2025. Development, planning and control of the battery production will also be brought together in Salzgitter. To this end, the Supervisory Board today approved the establishment of a European company that will combine all of the Group’s battery-related activities and facilitate third-party involvement in the future. The new company will also oversee the strategic partnerships with Umicore, 24M and Vulcan Energy agreed this week.
- It was agreed that a future production program for the Osnabrück site and a secondary use concept for Dresden would be considered in Planning Round 71.
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