German VW plant hits 1 million electric vehicles as cutbacks loom

DPA

Wed, Apr 30, 2025, 10:47 AM 1 min read

Electric car production at Germany's Volkswagen (VW) factory in the eastern city of Zwickau has passed the 1-million mark, the company announced on Wednesday.

The plant became the first VW site to produce only fully electric vehicles in November 2019, after a €1.2 billion ($1.4 billion) investment to convert the factory.

Nonetheless, the site is struggling, with demand for electric vehicles not as high as hoped. Many temporary contracts have already been terminated and the night shift on both production lines has been cancelled.

Further cuts are on their way, with production to be reduced to just one line manufacturing two Audi models, compared to the six VW, Audi and Cupra brands currently rolling off the production line.

The site has been pitched as a possible location for the development of a new business area in the circular economy.

"This would give us a second strategic foothold and enable us to once again play a pioneering role for the group," said works council chairman Uwe Kunstmann.

The factory's head, Danny Auerswald, said that despite the many challenges in recent years, producing 1 million vehicles is a strong achievement by the workforce.

But, he warned: "We must make our site competitive in the coming months to secure future investment in the plant."