Manufactured only in Zwickau
VW is canceling ID.3 production in Wolfsburg
March 8, 2024, 2:26 p.m
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At the Volkswagen main plant in Wolfsburg, the ID.3 is intended to provide entry into e-mobility. But now production remains exclusively in Saxony. The explanation is obvious.
Europe’s largest car manufacturer Volkswagen is canceling the previously planned overflow production of the electric model ID.3 in Wolfsburg. The group has decided to continue building the compact electric model exclusively in Saxony, said a spokesman in Wolfsburg. The start of assembly at the main plant planned for summer has been canceled again.
“The bottom line is that every euro that we don’t necessarily have to spend counts,” said production director Christian Vollmer, explaining the decision in an interview. “For this reason, we have decided to continue to concentrate the ID.3 volume in Zwickau and to effectively utilize the already fully equipped location.”
Weak demand for electric cars
Due to weak demand for electric cars, VW recently had to cut shifts at its purely electric car location in Saxony. Last year, VW delivered a total of 140,800 ID.3s. The abandonment of additional production in Wolfsburg is therefore good news for Zwickau, said Vollmer. However, this has no impact on the existing ID.3 assembly in Dresden, where the car is also being built in small numbers, the spokesman added. Assembly there is continuing.
In Wolfsburg, on the other hand, the focus for the time being is on the production of combustion and hybrid vehicles such as the Golf and Tiguan, said Vollmer. “These are consistently strong models that make full use of the site. I am confident that this year we will exceed the 500,000 vehicle production mark at the main plant for the first time in a long time.”
VW announced at the end of 2021 that it would also assemble the ID.3 in Wolfsburg in addition to Zwickau. Originally, small-scale production was supposed to start at the end of 2023. The conversion of the main factory for electric cars will continue without the ID.3, added Vollmer. According to previous information, an electric SUV will be launched here in 2026, and later a new electric Golf.