VW lowers EV production in October

Volkswagen will limit the production of electric cars at its Zwickau and Dresden plants for the first two weeks of October. A spokesperson said that a production line in Zwickau will be shut down during the autumn holidays (2.-13. October). However, the carmaker says that production of the ID.4, ID.5, Audi Q4 e-tron and Audi Q4 Sportback e-tron models will continue in three shifts.

Production of the ID.3 at the Transparent Factory (Gläserne Manufaktur) in Dresden will also be suspended during that period. All because there is less demand for these EVs, Volkswagen says.

At the same time, the carmaker is allegedly sticking to its plan to produce the ID.3 in Wolfsburg – though initially only in small numbers. Meanwhile, Volkswagen denied rumours that it will shut down its production facility in Dresden.

While production will resume in Dresden on 16 October, the further procedure in Zwickau is still unclear after this date. Talks with the works council are underway, according to the company. The carmaker did not want to comment on how the move would impact the total number of EVs produced or how many employees would be affected.

VW is currently making improvements in vehicle production – to put it positively. The electric car plant in Zwickau is not working to capacity and will probably not be soon.

The carmaker has terminated its long-standing three-shift agreement with workers there. “The aim is to reach a new agreement, jointly supported by the company and the employees, which takes into account the current market situation and ensures the economic viability of the site,” the company said in a statement. The current deal had been in place since 1991. Earlier this month, Volkswagen said it would cut hundreds of jobs in Zwickau due to the “current market situation.”

Already in July, it became clear that the German car industry is dealing with a drop in demand following the reform of the environmental bonus with reduced purchase premiums that came into force at the beginning of 2023. Volkswagen is said to be particularly affected, Manager Magazin reported at the time. At the turn of the year, the order backlog for the electric car plant in Zwickau still stood at almost 300,000 cars, but the number of orders shrunk to less than half in only six months.

Already in June, VW reduced the production of electric cars at its Emden plant. The reason was also weakening sales, as demand dropped nearly 30 per cent below initially planned production figures.

reuters.com (production) reuters.com (three-shift agreement)