Tag Archives: Volkswagen

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VW reduced the number of employees at the Zwickau plant

Volkswagen records good sales results when it comes to cars with internal combustion engines. However, when it comes to VW electric cars, the results are not so good. This caused a certain number of workers to be laid off at the Zwickau plant.

Chinese car manufacturers are increasingly conquering the European and other electric car markets, which has a great impact on the business results of big brands such as VW. How serious a problem it is for the German manufacturer, is shown by the recent news that the factory in Zwickau reduced the production of electric cars and also reduced the number of employees.

Zwickau plant was founded on 26 September 1990 and it produced cars with internal combustion engines, such as the legendary Trabant. Later, the factory was transformed into an electric car production plant, where models such as: Volkswagen ID.3, Cupra Born, Volkswagen ID.4, Audi Q4 e-tron, Volkswagen ID.5 and Audi Q4 Sportback e-tron were born. . It had 10,700 employees with an annual production capacity of 330,000 cars.

Meanwhile, falling demand for VW electric cars forced Volkswagen to temporarily lay off 269 employees for a period of 12 months.

Source: Volkswagen

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Chinese Gotion is building a battery factory in Europe

After the Chinese manufacturers of electric cars seriously set out to conquer the European market, another company is expanding its operations in Europe. In cooperation with the Slovakian startup Inobat, the Chinese Gotion is building a battery factory that will start operating in 2026.

The executive director of Inobat, Marian Bocek, said that the construction of the plant will start next year and will last for two years. The start of battery production is expected in 2026, from when a gradual increase in production can also be expected. Gotion and Inobat are currently looking for a location for the factory, and several European countries are among the options.

VW, which is the largest shareholder of Gotion, will benefit the most from this project. VW has an exclusive contract with Gotion to supply EV batteries outside of China. Gotion is also building a $2.36 billion battery plant in Michigan and a $2 billion plant in Illinois.

Europe’s efforts to build its own electric vehicle battery industry and reduce reliance on dominant Asian battery manufacturers are obvious and reasonable. Last month, Swedish lithium-ion battery maker Northvolt – whose customers include VW and Volvo – told Reuters it had raised $1.2 billion from investors. At the same time, French battery startup Verkor announced that it has secured more than 2 billion euros in funding for the construction of a gigafactory in Dunkirk.

Source: Reuters

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VW ID.X Performance Concept

Having recently unveiled the first all-electric GTI, the VW ID. GTI concept, Volkswagen has launched another car on the market and it is the ID.X Performance concept.

Although visually reminiscent of the ID.7 sedan, on which it is based, the ID.X Performance concept differs in many ways. The front part has a large black grill, large air vents in both corners and a carbon splitter with a red line in GTI style. There are also plastic protection on the wheel arches, rear spoiler mounted on the tailgate, side skirts, rear carbon diffuser. It is mounted on 20-inch sports rims with special racing tires.

The ID.X Performance is built on the MEB platform used by most new Volkswagen electric cars. It is powered by two electric motors with a total power of 550 hp (405 kW). It is 60 mm lower than the standard ID.7 model, and supports DC charging with a capacity of 200 kW.

Whether this concept will ever enter production, there is no information from Volkswagen.

Source: Volkswagen

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