Tag Archives: Volkswagen

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VW shuts down production of Polo in Europe

In 1975, Volkswagen introduced a new car from the B-segment, the VW Polo, which was offered worldwide in hatchback, saloon, and estate variants. Four decades later, the time has come to end production of this car at the Spanish plant.

In recent years, sales of the Polo have been in decline, and in 2024, VW sold just over 90,000 examples of the Polo, making it the eighth best-selling car in Europe. It was to be expected that at some point VW would decide to end the production of this car in Europe, so the only factory that will supply markets with this model remained in South Africa.

Since the mid-1980s, when production of the Polo began in Spain, 8.4 million cars have left the assembly line. However, demand for other models such as the T-Roc has changed that. From now on, VW T-Cross and Taigo, as well as some electric models, will be produced in this plant, so VW started to modify the plant. Also, from 2026, two small electric SUVs (ID.2all SUV and Epiq) will be produced at this location, one will be sold by Volkswagen and the other by Škoda. Both will use a smaller version of the MEB platform and will have FWD. The VW ID.2all SUV will take its place below the ID.3 model in the current range, while a hatchback version of this electric car will also be offered on the market and will be produced alongside the Cupra Raval at the Martorell plant in Spain.

The Škoda Epiq will cost around 25,000 euros, while the price of the VW ID.2all SUV is unknown.

Source: Volkswagen

News

Volkswagen is sinking

After the CEO of VW Oliver Blume stated that Volkswagen plans to shut down some plants in Germany, for the first time, it shocked the workers of this German manufacturer. The plan also includes abolishing job guarantees that have been in place for more than 30 years to cut costs. In many ways this was a question of not if, but when.

For a long time, VW has been struggling with huge supply chain constraints and increasingly strong competition, primarily from Chinese companies such as BYD, which is destroying the competition with low costs and state subsidies. Also, Chinese companies produce superior EVs in particular. Volkswagen has the capacity to produce 14 million cars per year, and in 2023 they produced only 9 million cars.

The workers are against this plan of the company, but so are the minority shareholders in the VW group. The head of the works council, Daniela Cavallo, said: “This calls into question VW itself, and thus the very essence of the group.” We will defend ourselves fiercely. As long as I’m on the council, VW won’t be closing plants!”

Oliver Blume stated that the VW Group is in a difficult situation and that it requires difficult decisions: “The European automotive industry is in a very challenging and serious situation. The economic environment is further difficult and new suppliers are pushing into Europe. In addition, Germany in particular lags further behind in terms of competitiveness. In such an environment, we as a company must be consistent.”

Also, in autumn wage talks are kicking off, but what we might see at the end of the day is workers agreeing to zero or very little pay increases.

Source: Reuters

News

VW and XPeng are developing a new E&E platform

In 2023, VW invested 700 million dollars in the Chinese car manufacturer XPENG, becoming the owner of 4.99% of the company, with which it agreed a partnership on the production of two models of this German brand. Now it has been announced that these companies are developing a special E&E (electrical and electronic) platform that will be in use from 2026.

A few months ago, the companies announced that the new platform will reduce costs and implement advanced automated driving features faster, with support provided through over-the-air upgrades. The first cars that will receive new electrical systems will arrive in 2 years, and one of them will be an SUV.

“We will be launching a new, very powerful electronic vehicle system on the market from 2026,” said Ralf Brandstatter, a member of the board of management for VW in China.

The contract has already been signed and two project headquarters have been established in the cities of Guangzhou and Hefei. This will allow Volkswagen and Xpeng engineers to work together on new systems.

Source: Reuters