VW Zwickau: ID.3 production extended – hope for long-term capacity utilization!

VW Zwickau: ID.3 production extended – hope for long-term capacity utilization!

Production of the ID.3 electric vehicle will be continued for longer at the VW factory in Zwickau. The reason for this is the postponed production start of other VW models in Wolfsburg. In the last few months it has already been signaled that the electric model Cupra Born will also have a longer production time in Zwickau. However, if you check with VW Sachsen, there is no official confirmation; a company spokesman refers to a planning meeting in November. Thomas Knabel from IG Metall in Zwickau says that the decision on production conditions will be made next month and that everything should be viewed as speculation at the moment. Nevertheless, the mood is optimistic: a longer stay of the vehicles in Zwickau would certainly be beneficial for the region.

The Saxon location is under pressure to get additional electric models to ensure long-term utilization. The original plan was for the ID.3, ID.4, ID.5 and Cupra Born models to move to Wolfsburg and Emden by the end of 2026. From 2027, only the Audi models Q4 e-tron and Q4 e-tron Sportback should be produced in Zwickau. These plans come from a savings package that was decided shortly before Christmas last year. Critics express concerns that the production of Audi models alone will not ensure sufficient utilization of the Zwickau factory. Although the Audi Q4 e-tron is one of the ten best-selling electric vehicles in Germany, it suffered a decline in new registrations of 8.6 percent in the first half of the year.

Sustainable production in Zwickau

Volkswagen Sachsen has an impressive tradition in Zwickau that dates back to 1990, where various VW models were manufactured here. However, the location has changed significantly in recent years as production has increasingly switched to electric vehicles. Another unique selling point is that the factory runs 100 percent on green electricity. Unavoidable emissions are compensated for by recognized climate protection projects. This means that the plant is CO2-neutral, which is a key advantage, especially in times of climate change, in order to remain sustainable, as Audi-Mediacenter also emphasizes.

Audi Q4 Sportback e-tron vehicles have also been produced here since summer 2021. For Audi, this means a return to its roots, as company founder August Horch founded “A. Horch Motorenwagenwerke AG” in Zwickau in 1904. The current model range at the site includes the Audi Q4 e-tron.

Bidirectional charging: The future of electromobility

While production capacities for electric cars are being expanded in Zwickau, the market for electric mobility is also continuing to develop. Bidirectional charging is an exciting topic. Electric cars can not only serve as a means of transportation, but also store electricity and deliver it when needed. This allows owners of electric cars to use excess electricity from their own photovoltaic systems or to store cheap grid electricity. From 2025, all electricity providers will be obliged to offer time-variable tariffs, which will make bi-directional charging more attractive, as the Federal Ministry of Economics explains.

With different variants of bidirectional charging, such as vehicle-to-home (V2H) and vehicle-to-grid (V2G), electric cars can help stabilize the power grid. The foundations for this have already been laid, and a European coalition is working to make bi-directional charging marketable by 2025. The goal is to position Germany as a leading market for electromobility while at the same time offering all players equal opportunities.