Volkswagen denies the union's claim. The ID.3 will be moved from Zwickau to Wolfsburg in 2027
On Tuesday, at the Automotive Forum Zwickau, Volkswagen’s works council vice-chairman Jürgen Mahnkopf announced that the ID.3 would remain at the Saxon factory until at least the end of 2027. Less than a day later, Christian Sommer, spokesman for Volkswagen Sachsen, denied this and confirmed that production of the compact vehicle would move to Wolfsburg next year. For the 8,000 workers in Zwickau, this represents another change in direction within two years.
Mahnkopf’s words were reported by the dpa news agency. According to him, Wolfsburg would initially only produce the ID.3 GTI, while regular versions would continue to be manufactured in Zwickau. Keeping the ID.3 there was intended to compensate for the declining output of the Audi Q4 e-tron, which is also produced at the same factory. The original plan was different: Wolfsburg was to start production alongside Zwickau and take over full production by 2027.
The company’s position was reported by the regional broadcaster MDR. Sommer said the facts hadn’t changed and the ID.3 was moving to Wolfsburg as planned. He added that this delay was particularly frustrating for the staff.
Wolfsburg was actually ready for the ID.3 several years ago, as it was supposed to take over excess orders that never materialized due to weaker demand than expected.
What Remains of the December 2024 Agreement
The collective agreement signed just before the 2024 holidays, known in Germany as the “Christmas peace,” stipulated that Zwickau would lose everything except the Audi Q4 e-tron and its Sportback version. The ID.3 and Cupra Born from Line 1 were supposed to move to Wolfsburg in 2026 along with a facelift. From Line 2, the ID.5 will be removed from the lineup, while the ID.4 will only be produced in Emden, where some of these vehicles are currently assembled.
One year ago, Volkswagen partially withdrew from the region. The Cupra Born will remain in Saxony for longer, while the ID.3 received a short delay. The ID.4 and ID.5 will cease production in Zwickau at the end of this year. If the spokesperson is correct, only two models will remain at the plant: the Audi Q4 e-tron (along with its Sportback version) and the Cupra Born, meaning the factory will stay multi-brand but with a much shorter lineup.
Zwickau is currently capable of producing 300,000 electric vehicles per year on two production lines. With just two models, the plant is likely to reduce its operations to one line. It is also one of four German factories of the group whose future is uncertain, so Volkswagen’s car production there could end after 2031. The group is already looking for other uses for Zwickau: earlier in November, we reported on a line for disassembling used cars, which is set to dismantle 4,100 vehicles per year starting in 2027 to extract original parts for repair shops.
Source: Electrive
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