Volkswagen announced on Monday that its main electric car production site in Zwickau, Germany has resumed three-shift operation.
The production lines were halted in late February due to parts supply issues (specifically wire harnesses from Ukraine) for about three weeks and then resumed on March 29 at a limited scale of around 900 vehicles a day.
After securing stable parts supply, production gradually increased and on June 13 the company was able to resume 3-shift operation with an output of roughly 1,300 units per workday.
Stefan Loth, Chairman of the Board of Management at Volkswagen Saxony said:
“The parts supply is now so stable again that with the third shift we now have additional capacity in Zwickau to work off the high order backlog,”
At the site, the company produces a total of six MEB-based models, including the Volkswagen ID.3, Volkswagen ID.4, Volkswagen ID.5, Audi Q4 e-tron, Audi Q4 Sportback e-tron and Cupra Born. The plant was envisioned for 330,000 BEVs per year.
Considering how constrained the production of electric cars was earlier this year, it's outstanding news - also for those who are waiting for the Volkswagen ID.4 in the US (initially imported from Germany).
Volkswagen recently also launched production of the Volkswagen ID.4 in Emden, while the Volkswagen ID. Buzz entered production in Hanover. At the Transparent Factory in Dresden the company produces the ID.3, but at a small scale (reportedly 35 units per day).
Meanwhile, Volkswagen Group's Skoda also was able to resume production of the Skoda Enyaq iV and Enyaq Coupe iV to 1,000 units per week in late April (with a goal to reach 370 units per day or 1,850 per week later).
All of those efforts should bring a steady, high-volume flow of MEB-based electric cars to the EV-hungry European market.
Quick electrification of transport is currently doubly important, as the oil is not only expensive but in the case of Europe, relies on imports very heavily.
