Tradition meets future
There is a long tradition of carmaking at Zwickau. More than 100 years ago, August Horch & Cie. Automobilbau AG and Audi Automobilwerke GmbH started vehicle production at this location. Later, the two companies became part of Auto Union AG and finally AUDI AG. Following German reunification, Volkswagen returned to the region and established Volkswagen Sachsen GmbH in 1990. Currently, some 7,700 people are employed at the Zwickau plant. Last year, they produced about 290,000 vehicles. Thomas Ulbrich: “The Zwickau team has the know-how and passion required for producing electric cars of the very highest quality.”
Made in Germany
All in all, six Volkswagen plants in Germany are involved in the development and production of the Volkswagen ID.. The model is being conceived and developed by the E-Mobility Series Group and Technical Development in Wolfsburg. The heart of the ID., the battery system, is to be produced in Brunswick. The plant is currently being expanded in order to produce up to half a million battery systems per year in the future. The entirely newly developed MEB powertrain is to be produced in Kassel. And Salzgitter is to start with pre-series production of the rotor and stator for the MEB this year.
“This is a strong commitment to Germany as an automobile production location. We intend to take the country into the lead with respect to the electric car and to ensure that it remains strong in the long term,” says Thomas Ulbrich.