Volkswagen Zwickau halts combustion engine production to focus on EVs

Volkswagen has officially ended their tradition of producing combustion engine vehicles after the final engine for the seventh-generation Golf R Estate, has rolled out in the production line. 

This, as they start to move on to creating electric models in the future. Sister brands Audi and Seat will also go along with this transformation.

“Today is a historic day for us. We are proud of what we have achieved so far, and at the same time are greatly looking forward to what the future holds for us. The trend towards electric mobility will continue to pick up speed,” said Reinhard de Vries, Managing Director of Technology and Logistics at Volkswagen Sachsen.

“We will meet this demand from Zwickau: we have already created the capacity to build 330,000 vehicles next year,” he added.

Volkswagen vehicles with combustion engines have been developed in Zwickau for 116 years, and then started producing in May 1990 in western Saxony.

And for over 30 years, it had managed to assemble 6,049,207 vehicles of the models Polo, Golf, Golf Estate, Passat Saloon and Passat Variant.

Jens Rothe, Chairman of the General Works Council at Volkswagen Sachsen stated, “Zwickau is steeped in German automotive tradition. Our team has always delivered excellent performance and built vehicles with excellent quality. We have gained the trust in the Group to become the first location to start fully electric large-scale series production. The Zwickau plant is therefore well-equipped for the future.” 

After the conversion phase that lasted for several weeks during the summer, the first electric vehicles will be produced in Hall 6, where the Golf Estate has been done previously, at the end of 2020—together with the ID.4, an SUV from the sister brand Audi is also planned.

Series production of the ID.3 1st Edition already started at the site in west Saxony in November 2019, and the start of production of the ID.4 will follow this summer.

All 8,000 employees will be equipped to produce electric cars and handle high-voltage systems as part of diverse training measures. This will ensure long-term job security at the Zwickau location.

Volkswagen ID.3 is the first vehicle based on the modular electric toolkit (MEB). The MEB platform was specifically made for electric cars and optimally exploits the change offered by electric mobility. The ID.3 is consequently characterized by long ranges, plenty of interior space and dynamic driving behavior. The ID.3 1st Edition’s market launch will occur throughout Europe by September 2020.

Volkswagen Sachsen has two other locations in the Free State of Saxony: The Chemnitz engine plant produces modern direct petrol injectors. By the end of the year, the e-Golf will be released at the Transparent Factory in Dresden, the ID.3 will be produced by 2020.

Bodies for the Lamborghini and Bentley luxury SUVs will continue to be produced in Zwickau. 

Photos from Volkswagen 

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