As of: January 30, 2024, 5:03 p.m
By: Lars-Eric Nievelstein
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Car manufacturers all over the world are pushing forward with e-mobility.
But there seem to be problems at Volkswagen.
The only purely electric location had to reduce production.
Zwickau – The combustion engine is slowly moving towards the siding.
Both in the “industrial nation” of Germany and in other EU countries, there is a consensus that from 2035 no new cars with gasoline or diesel engines will be sold over the counter.
This is primarily due to the political course that the European Union has been following for several years.
Car manufacturers are doing their best to keep up, but the example of VW now shows that political will is colliding with demand.
Share of electric cars in VW models sold (2023) |
8.3 percent |
|---|---|
Electric motors manufactured at the VW plant in Kassel per day |
800 – 900 pieces |
Company name |
Volkswagen AG |
VW cuts production – electric car factory affected
Electric motors are currently in short supply at Volkswagen.
The Zwickau factory – the only one that exclusively produces electric cars – is running at reduced capacity.
As the
Handelsblatt
reported, a spokesman confirmed that there is currently only reduced production.
Lack of electric motors at Volkswagen – Are the goals for e-mobility too high?
© IMAGO / Action Pictures
More precisely, this means: Instead of five days, employees only work three days a week in early, late and night shifts.
This affects the two models ID.4 and ID.5 manufactured by VW Saxony, as well as the Audi SUV Q4 e-tron.
According to the current plan, the throttling will last until February.
Afterwards, regular operations should resume.
Employees affected by the new plan are either on short-time work or Volkswagen is carrying out further training measures.
Volkswagen lacks electric motors
The reason for these measures lies in the VW component plant in Kassel.
According to media reports, this always causes problems: Since 2023, Volkswagen has been producing a high-performance electric motor here, which is used, among other things, in the affected models.
There were repeated bottlenecks in production.
Instead of the targeted 1,500 engines per day, the system only produces 800 to 900 engines.
In November it reportedly only managed a third of the technically promised amount.
The Volkswagen subsidiary Skoda has a similar problem.
Here too, production of the Enyaq electric SUV is running with reduced performance, just like in the Zwickau factory, the lack of electric motors is the cause.
But the Czechs have increased the production figures for the Octavia combustion engine car.
Since Skoda produces both models on one line in Mlada Boleslav, the manufacturer can adapt flexibly.
Customers are no longer buying as many electric cars
Another major problem for the group is demand.
For months, the
Handelsblatt
writes , demand for electrics in private customers has remained at a “low level”.
8.3 percent of all VW Group cars sold in 2023 were electric.
As a result, shifts were repeatedly eliminated.
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At the same time, Volkswagen offers discounts on its electric models.
The discounts are currently valid until the end of March.
However, none of this has had an impact on delivery times.
However, it should be noted that the delivery times of the affected models sometimes differ greatly.
China is closing the gap in combustion engines
Meanwhile, VW is increasingly looking to China.
At a time when the European Union is doing everything it can to phase out the combustion engine, it is becoming more popular in China.
Instead of relying entirely on e-mobility, the Middle Kingdom is further developing all types of drive, including gasoline and diesel engines.
German car manufacturers are threatened not only with stronger competition when it comes to electromobility, but also with classic combustion engines.
“It can be assumed that Chinese manufacturers will be happy to use the gap left by German car manufacturers in affordable combustion vehicles to expand their market shares in Europe and other global markets,” explains Elmar Kühn, managing director of the fuel lobby association UNITI, in
Focus
.