Volkswagen's plant in Emden, northwest Germany, will remain closed for six weeks, according to new reports. Electric vehicle production line workers will get an extended summer vacation, with one shift canceled for two weeks.
According to Manfred Wulff, head of the working council in Emden factory, for the German Press Agency and Nordwest Zeitung, affected models include the ID.4 electric SUV and the upcoming electric sedan ID.7. Production of models with internal combustion engines, including the Passat, will remain unchanged.
Wulff also announced a reduction in the number of workers at the plant. 300 of the 1,500 temporary workers will not have their contracts renewed in August 2023. Work force reductions and extended vacations point to one conclusion: sales are in serious crisis.
Volkswagen investors, however, may be worried. The manufacturer's problems go deeper than the domestic economic recession. With Tesla and also some Korean manufacturers advancing at a rapid pace, there are fears that Volkswagen will be left behind. In addition, it is increasingly obvious that the Chinese may overtake it in the future. Volkswagen is the least innovative of all manufacturers and seems to be the least likely to cut off customers. However, electro mobility is approached very conservatively. And it doesn't solve the real questions.
However, it should be borne in mind that it may be more than just an economic crisis. Perhaps customers simply do not like the products offered by Volkswagen. Although last year Volkswagen announced a plan to invest almost 1.1 billion dollars in the transformation and renovation of the Emden plant for electric vehicles on the MEB platform, it appears that these investments cannot exceed the need for innovation and appeal to customers. Customers of electric cars need to be offered innovations and things that should be standard in the industry. Such as home charging with 22 kWh, or series heat pump, or DC charging at least 170 kWh on all models.
In the first quarter of 2023, Volkswagen Group sales in Europe rose by 68 percent year-on-year, while sales in the United States rose by a whopping 98 percent. However, sales in China, the VW Group's biggest market and also the largest plug-in car market by volume in the world, fell by an alarming 25 percent.
So Volkswagen seems to be at a crossroads. Whether they will be able to adapt and overcome these challenges remains an open question. For now, however, it is clear that they must find a way to manage emerging issues and adapt in an increasingly competitive electric vehicle market.
Source: nwzonline.de
