How VW aims to transform Zwickau into Europe’s top-performing EV factory

Zwickau is one of Germany’s oldest automotive hubs that is best known to many as the home of the Trabant, a car synonymous with the former East Germany. Volkswagen is poised to write a new chapter in Zwickau’s history book. Starting in November, the first series-produced VW I.D. full-electric hatchbacks will roll off an assembly line in Zwickau for a price comparable to a Golf diesel.

Roughly two years later, the factory should reach full capacity, producing 1,500 battery-powered cars a day, making it Europe’s largest EV plant. Total output is expected to reach 330,000 vehicles, which will include EVs for the VW, Audi and Seat brands.

The plant will be a key part of a global network of sites making EVs for Volkswagen, which aims to shift its entire fleet to battery propulsion by 2040 as part of a commitment to the Paris climate accord.

“Zwickau will form the nucleus of our electromobility plans, becoming the first factory for the Volkswagen brand to be completely converted,” VW brand’s head of e-mobility, Thomas Ulbrich, told journalists during a recent tour of the facility.

While the Brussels-built Audi e-tron that went into production late last year was the first model from VW Group’s Roadmap E strategy, VW brand’s I.D. family is the backbone of the plan. Built off the company’s MEB architecture, VW wants to produce affordable, mass-market EVs “for the millions and not for millionaires,” Ulbrich said.

Moreover, VW for the first time in its history aims to deliver a car to customers that is produced entirely carbon neutral, all the way down to its various components. “This is particularly important to us,” Ulbrich said. “We believe this is a considerable key to success when selling a large number of electric vehicles.”

It’s not an easy goal to achieve. While electric cars may not emit carbon in operation, they start their life at a distinct disadvantage compared with conventional vehicles because of the considerable energy needed to produce their battery packs. VW’s answer is “avoid, reduce and offset.” First, Zwickau will make the switch over the next six to 12 months to run entirely on hydropower from Austria. Second, VW agreed that all battery cells supplied by companies such as LG Chem should also use renewable energy, even if the suppliers are based in countries such as Poland, which relies heavily on coal for electricity.

VW’s ambitious plans and the scale of its targeted EV volume -- up to 15 million for MEB-based cars over the platform’s first life cycle -- gave it the bargaining power needed to change the terms of existing deals. “Not all the supply contracts were defined that way at the outset, this is something we agreed on after the fact” with component makers, Ulbrich said.

For the remaining CO2 emitted while manufacturing certain parts or from the natural gas used to heat Zwickau, it will be offset using programs such as the Verified Carbon Standard. The carbon-offsetting measures could be planting trees or introducing filtration systems and water treatment plants in developing nations to avoid the use of burning wood to purify water.

VW is investing 1.2 billion euros to make the Zwickau plant EV ready. Nearly 40 percent of that total is earmarked for the body shop because the weight of the battery alone requires entirely new structural strength to support the body-in-white. To ensure Zwickau’s electric cars are profitable over their life cycle, productivity must be increased by 20 percent -- only half of which will come from a higher daily output. Much of the additional gain will be achieved during final assembly, where collaborative robots will assist in the manufacturing of the EV, for example, by installing entire cockpit modules while the line is still moving.

The plant’s 7,700 employees will be retained because more stamping work will be moved in-house, including the engine hood, roof, fenders, doors and other side panels. “It’s much more economic to transport steel coils to Zwickau than [shipping] bulky, large-volume parts,” said the plant’s head of logistics, Reinhard de Vries. “That way we have complete quality control over the manufacture of all design-relevant parts.”