Thomas Schaefer, head of the Volkswagen brand, said yesterday that the company will invest 460 million euros (approximately 482 million euros) in the Wolfsburg plant in the city where its German headquarters is located in early 2025. U.S. dollars), most of which will be used to produce the ID.3 compact electric car.
Schaefer revealed that after the ID.3 is fully put into production at the Wolfsburg plant in early 2025, the plant will use its own pure electric vehicle platform MEB to produce another compact all-electric SUV.
Volkswagen also said that MEB integrates the structure and design of electric vehicles, and now the company is upgrading it to MEB+, which allows electric vehicles to achieve faster charging times and longer cruising range.
VW’s Wolfsburg plant employs around 60,000 workers and produces the Golf, Tiguan and Touran. Retooling factories to make electric cars has topped the factory’s agenda. Many people worry that if it does not do so, the Fort Worth plant may be left behind in the transition to electric vehicles.
Annual production at VW’s Fort Worth plant has been on a downward spiral since 2015, plummeting from a peak of 800,000 vehicles to less than 400,000 a year.
Schaefer said on Tuesday that Volkswagen was still facing “extreme confusion” in its supply chain, with many suppliers canceling major orders overnight.
He said at the time that Volkswagen would decide by February next year whether to build the new Trinity electric car at the Wolfsburg plant or build a new factory nearby to build the new car.
Schaefer said on Wednesday that the new electric SUV will be built using VW’s existing electric vehicle platform.
“This is the largest car segment in the world, and our beloved Tiguan is part of it. The new model will complement our already popular ID.4 and ID.5 models and expand our electric vehicle portfolio and expand our market position .”
The ID.3 production schedule is already on track, with partial mass production expected to begin in 2023 and full production to begin in 2024.
