VW interrupts MEB production in Zwickau again

According to a media report, production at the Volkswagen electric car plant in Zwickau has once again come to a halt. This time, however, it is not due to a lack of demand, but because a critical component is missing - the electric motor.

As the carmaker is not getting enough motors, production on production line 2 will probably have to be suspended on 1 December, according to a report in the Freie Presse. The ID.4 and ID.5 from VW and the Q4 e-tron and Q4 Sportback e-tron from Audi are built on production line 2. According to the statement, “significantly more than 1,000 of the total of around 8,000 employees” are affected by the production shutdown. VW will continue to pay employees during this time, provide training, and improve work processes.

The VW Group introduced a new model year for these SUV models in autumn, in which the 150 kW PSM on the rear axle is replaced by the new APP550. It offers 210 kW of power and 550 Nm (instead of the previous 310 Nm) of maximum torque. At the same time, the new electric motor is more efficient, thus increasing the range.

However, according to the report, there are disruptions in the supply chain for the APP550 at the VW motor plant in Kassel. As a result, fewer units of the “performance electric motor” will be delivered to the Zwickau vehicle plant than initially planned. A company spokesperson confirmed this to the Freie Presse.

Production of the ID.3 and Cupra Born continues

The few available APP550s will instead be delivered to another plant. To avoid jeopardising the ramp-up of production of the new VW ID.7 in Emden, the plant in Lower Saxony will be given preference.

Zwickau’s production line 1, where the VW ID.3 and Cupra Born are manufactured, is not affected. These models receive the older electric drive with 150 kW of power and 310 Nm of torque. There does not appear to be any disruption to the supply chain for this unit – even though the drive unit is also manufactured in Kassel.

Due to weak demand, Volkswagen had already stopped EV production in Zwickau on production line 1 for around two weeks in October. Production of the two models has since resumed in three shifts.

The first model based on the upcoming SSP electric platform, the VW Trinity, will also be built in Zwickau. The VW motor plant in Chemnitz will also supply components. However, according to another article in Freie Presse, it won’t supply electric motors but components for thermal management.

Even though combustion engines will continue to roll off the production line at the plant for many years to come, the site’s future is electric mobility, as Freie Presse writes, citing plant manager Gerd Hahn. The thermal management system for the SSP from Chemnitz will be more compact, lighter and cheaper than previous systems. According to Hahn, the plant will supply the thermal management system from the start of SSP series production planned for 2028. However, the first systems will be “out the door” in 2026.

freiepresse.de (Zwickau, in German), freiepresse.de (Chemnitz, in German)