In the spring, Audi returned to the place where it was founded. Since then, cars with the four rings have been built in Zwickau again – including fully electric drives. The VW subsidiary hopes that this will also provide additional know-how for its main plant.
Around six months after the Q4 e-tron was launched, Zwickau has developed into Audi’s largest production site for electric vehicles.
“We have come to stay,” said the head of the Audi electrical series, Fermín Soneira Santos, on Tuesday. “We’ll be here for the next seven years and probably beyond.” Audi did not want to give exact numbers.
In addition to the VW plant in Zwickau, the manufacturer also builds fully electric vehicles in Neckarsulm and Brussels. The Q6 is planned as the first electric car at the headquarters in Ingolstadt, and its market launch is scheduled for 2023. Around 350 Audi employees currently support production in Zwickau. The aim is for them to gain experience in electromobility and bring this to their home locations in the future.
According to Audi, the share of all-electric vehicles in total deliveries was 3.3 percent in the first half of the year (previous year: 2.7 percent). From 2026, the Volkswagen subsidiary plans to bring new models to the market with only electric drives and gradually phase out the production of cars with internal combustion engines by 2033.
According to Stefan Loth, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Sachsen GmbH, the current chip shortage affects the Zwickau plant less severely than other locations. “We have prioritized parts supply,” he said. Although there was also short-time work here, this has so far been more of a “sporadic nature”.
VW has converted the site with around 8,500 employees for 1.2 billion euros into a pure factory for electric vehicles and developed it into a multi-brand factory. The automation has been increased, so that, for example, even more work steps are taken over by robots.
In addition to the ID.3 and ID.4 from VW, models for Audi and the Seat offshoot Cupra are also manufactured in Zwickau. At the end of this year, the ID.5 will be the last of a total of six models to go into regular production. In the future, the climate balance should also be improved, emphasized Loth.
VW advertises that the cars are produced in a “climate-neutral” way. According to the information, this will also be achieved through afforestation in Indonesia. Such “compensation measures” for unavoidable CO2 emissions are often criticized, as is the trade in pollution certificates. However, work will continue to directly improve the CO2 balance, the company explained – for example with a view to parts from suppliers and machines used in production.
With the start of production of the Q4 e-tron, Audi returned to the place where it was founded in the spring. The company was founded by August Horch in Zwickau in 1909 and renamed “Audi” a year later. With the merger with other Saxon vehicle manufacturers in 1932, the four rings were then trademarks of Auto Union. After the Second World War, the company was re-established in Bavaria.
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
