VW Polo celebrates 35 years: Success story and challenges in the Zwickau plant!

VW Polo celebrates 35 years: Success story and challenges in the Zwickau plant!

In the VW plant in Zwickau, celebrations are celebrated: 35 years ago, the first polo rolled off the band to herald a remarkable success story. On May 21, 1990 it was ready when the first Volkswagen Polo in the Moselle district ran off the assembly line. The Polo, a steep rear model with a 1.3-liter engine and 55 hp in classic alpine white, has now reached the status of a museum piece. Many employees take this as an opportunity to remind you, such as news38.de. At the Zwickau production site, which has also manufactured Trabant models in addition to the Polo since the beginning, employees such as Jörn Kaiser and Udo Friedrich, both former mechanical engineers at VEB Sachsenring, played a decisive role. These men experienced the transition phase from the Trabi assembly for the production of the polo.

A look back: the beginnings were anything but easy. In the first few years, the parts for the vehicles came to wooden boxes from the west, and the employees had to assemble cars with a lot of skill and creativity from these components. A colleague describes the first 35 years as a quick but impressive journey that was characterized by hard work and happy but also challenging moments. Many remember that in the production period they also installed Trabants in addition to the Polo, while some colleagues experienced the change of work as a challenging step. Some terminated due to hard working conditions and short breaks. But the cohesion was strong, and one of the employees has summarized a positive view of the work in the night shift: "Our heart was tuned".

The change in automotive production

Since the first hand -mounted models of VW Sachsen GmbH, which was founded in December 1990, a lot has happened. This transformation has taken all employees with it. Jörn and Udo, who have witnessed the change from combustion engines to e-mobility, are convinced that the future of the automotive is secured with intuitive and innovative solutions. Vehicles such as ID.3, ID.4 and ID.5 as well as the Audi Q4 Etron already show in which direction the automotive future is in the Zwickau location. Both emphasize that the younger generation is open to new technologies, while older employees hold on to traditional combustion vehicles. mdr documents this exciting phase of the automotive history of the region.

But the automotive industry, which has been dominated by internal combustion engines for 125 years, is at a turning point. The growing needs of more environmentally friendly traffic technologies require a comprehensive change. The car in urban areas is increasingly being considered more critically, while it is still indispensable for commuters and residents of rural regions. These perspectives show how important automotive production for the German economy remains, as in an article of the bpb.

The current uncertainty about the future of the work in the VW crisis is noticeable, but employees are optimistic. Despite the challenges associated with retraining and new technologies, there are orders and a view of growth in e-mobility. The employees are ready to accept these changes and find their place in the new automotive reality. "It is important that we go over time," says Udo, and that shows that the heart of the old trabant and the new polo are closely connected.