The first pre-series vehicles of the ID.4 electric SUV have been built at the VW plant in Emden, Lower Saxony, for some time. Production is scheduled to start there in spring 2022. VW had rebuilt the plant in the structurally weak region for one billion euros. After Zwickau, it is being expanded to become the second German location where Volkswagen intends to produce its new electric models. "With the conversion of the Emden location into an electric plant, we are taking another decisive step in the transformation of Volkswagen into a software-driven provider of sustainable mobility," said Christian Vollmer, VW brand's Board Member for Production, on Tuesday during a visit to the factory in Emden. The company has converted the existing production facilities for this purpose, but also built additional production halls. Vollmer saidWhat is essential here is a "significantly increased productivity in order to make Volkswagen sustainably profitable".
Carsten Germis
Business correspondent in Hamburg.
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When it comes to productivity, the American competitor Tesla VW in particular is putting pressure on it.
The Americans want to produce a digitally networked electric car in just ten hours, while the VW plant in Zwickau in Saxony takes around three times as long.
In Zwickau, VW had completely rebuilt its first plant in Germany to produce electric cars.
The first fully battery-powered models from the VW brand, the ID.3 and the ID.4 electric SUV, roll off the production line there.
Around 400 employees from Zwickau have been working in Emden since spring 2020 in order to pass on their experiences to their colleagues there during the start-up of production.
In the Lower Saxony port city, around 8,000 employees are being trained for their new tasks.
Vollmer said the conversion to the factory for electric cars in Emden is now on the home stretch. Since last year, the factory has been converted for production during ongoing operations. After the ID.4, which will be manufactured in Emden from 2022, the “Aero B” will also roll off the production line in the Lower Saxony plant as a sedan and station wagon from 2023. The Aero B is a fully electric model the size of the Passat that was previously built in Emden. The Passat and the Arteon will also continue to be manufactured at the site for a transitional phase over several years. Six additional production halls and logistics buildings will have been built on the factory premises by 2023. In the future, logistics will be linked directly to assembly and the shorter routes will help reduce costs.The use of regenerative energy sources is also to be promoted at the Emden plant. The conditions for this are one of the best on the North Sea coast, which is one of the regions with the highest density of wind energy plants.