Volkswagen adjusts its shift system at its only electric car factory. This was announced through a change in a company agreement. The low demand for electric cars leads to further cuts at Volkswagen in Zwickau.

According to a site spokesperson, the company has eliminated a shift in the production line of the ID.3 and Cupra Born. Depending on the market situation, the second production line may be converted to a classic two-shift operation next year. The electric models ID.3, ID.4 and ID.5, as well as the sister models Cupra Born and Audi Q4 E-tron, are currently being built on two assembly lines in Zwickau. The location in Saxony is Volkswagen's only pure electric car factory.

Originally, production took place in Zwickau on two assembly lines in a three-shift operation. However, at the end of September, Volkswagen announced the termination of a more than 30-year-old company agreement, citing the current market situation. In the months prior, production had been throttled back several times due to insufficient demand, and the contracts of nearly 270 temporary employees were not renewed. Currently, a supply bottleneck with electric motors is also burdening the plant, resulting in only one of the two production lines currently in operation. The production for the ID.4, ID.5 and Audi Q4 E-tron is completely on hold for November.

The electric car production in Emden, Lower Saxony, was also affected by this circumstance, albeit to a lesser extent than in Zwickau. The factory in Saxony is designed for a production of about 350,000 vehicles, but the actual output in 2022 was only 218,000 cars. According to corporate circles, Zwickau is planning just over 230,000 manufactured vehicles for this year, a number that is below the original plans.

Although Volkswagen Sold 321,600 Electric Cars in First Half, High Figures Do Not Necessarily Reflect True Market Situation. German auto industry is currently dealing with a huge backlog due to the Corona crisis and chip shortage. However, this backlog is shrinking faster than planned, as the number of new orders is currently too low according to dealer and corporate sources. During summer, orders for VW electric vehicles were, depending on the model, 30 to 70 percent below the planned figures, as previously reported by Handelsblatt. The company declined to comment at that time.

VW Brand Chief Thomas Schäfer recently expressed his belief that the share of electric cars in Europe will significantly increase in the coming years. The current reluctance to purchase electric cars is only a temporary downturn.

The Volkswagen brand is currently in negotiations for a comprehensive savings and efficiency programme with the works council. The goal is to achieve performance improvements amounting to ten billion euros by 2026, which will also help reduce labor and personnel costs. The sales of electric cars and the utilization of electric car factories such as in Zwickau play an important role in this.