Blume rumoured to throw out VW’s new EV factory

According to a media report, the new Volkswagen boss Oliver Blume is questioning the construction of the new electric car plant planned by his predecessor Herbert Diess in the Warmenau district of Wolfsburg. The result is that the electric flagship Trinity is “probably not to come until 2030”.

As reported by the German publication Manager Magazin with reference to company circles, Blume wants to postpone the launch of the Trinity vehicles, planned for 2026, by around four years. The model should be produced in the new plant that has already been officially announced. The SSP model platform planned for the entire group will probably no longer be launched with the Trinity as originally specified, they say. That would be the death knell for the new plant in the Warmenau district of Wolfsburg, the magazine concludes.

Instead of the ambitious Trinity series, there will initially be additional and as yet unplanned electric models based on the MEB modular system. These could also be built at the old Wolfsburg plant, which is being partly converted to electric anyway. The report goes on to say that the new line has not yet been formally decided. But Blume has made it clear to confidants that this is his roadmap.

Bottlenecks at the software subsidiary Cariad are cited as the main reason for the later launch of the Trinity: “The E3 1.2 software, which is already years late and primarily intended for Porsche and Audi, is to be used for a longer period and refreshed in between. The E3 2.0 software will not start in 2026, but in 2029.” So, following this logic, the Trinity built on the software 2.0 will have to wait.

Instead, a group strategist is quoted as saying that the current ID.3 and ID.4 received a refresh for a good one billion euros – among other things for better software, more range and a faster charging time.

In response to the Manager Magazin article, Blume and VW boss Thomas Schäfer are said to have issued a joint internal statement, according to which they will decide in the next few weeks, in close consultation with the workers’ side, on the software timetable, cutting of the platforms and allocation of the plants.

Other problems with the planning of the electric car plant in Warmenau became public just a fortnight ago. The German publication Automobilwoche reported that Volkswagen was unable to reach an agreement with their landlords and therefore had to reschedule the plant. If Blume gets his way with his aforementioned push, this should be a matter of course.

manager-magazin.de, automobilwoche.de (both in German)