Volkswagen transformed its Emden site in Germany to build all-electric vehicles, and production has already started.
German automaker Volkswagen has expanded its electric vehicle production by launching a second manufacturing plant in Germany. Its Emden site is now dedicated to producing electric vehicles.
According to the automaker, the Emden plant transformed into Lower Saxony’s first high-tech site for electric mobility with an investment of €1 billion. They also said that converting the large-scale factory from ICE vehicle production to 100% all-electric is the most significant transformation project in the plant’s history.
Volkswagen’s best-selling electric model ID.4, rolled off its production line in Emden on May 20.
The Emden site joins all-electric plants in Zwickau, Germany, and Chinese plants in Anting and Foshan. Two more factories in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Hanover, Pennsylvania, will also begin producing EVs this year.
The automaker’s six sites are expected to build 1.2 million all-electric vehicles per year, which will all be based on the company’s MEB platform.
Apart from the ID.4, the Emden site will also produce another EV model, the AERO B, which will be added to its production lines starting in 2023, the company said.
Accordingly, the Emden site’s maximum production capacity will be 800 units per working day by the end of the year, depending on the supply situation, the company said.
Volkswagen also created six new production halls and five new conveyor bridges and logistics buildings in the Emden site that covers 125,000 square meters as part of its conversion. They also stated that 400 employees in Emden have been transferred to Zwickau since early 2020 to prepare for the production of electric vehicles.
Volkswagen said that it plans to invest a total of €21 billion in Lower Saxony over the next few years to make the federal state Germany’s center for electric mobility.
“Volkswagen is making Lower Saxony, where we have 130,000 employees, Germany’s center for electric mobility,” said Volkswagen CEO Ralf Brandstätter.
“With our clear commitment to the site, we aim to show that cost-effectiveness and competitiveness are not only possible in the region, but that we can even enhance them lastingly,” Brandstätter said.
