Volkswagen looks towards Poland for ID.Buzz production
The local German newspaper Hannoversche Allgemeine initially reported on the plans to move production to Poland that were allegedly mentioned at the works meeting and later indirectly confirmed by the company. When asked by the German news agency the dpa, a Volkswagen spokesperson said that various scenarios were currently being examined but that nothing has been decided yet. The spokesperson did not confirm whether a partial or complete relocation is one of these scenarios.
VWCV invested more in the plant this summer, 2024, to retool production for further variants of the ID. Buzz. Now that the old T6.1 has finally been phased out, the T7 Multivan and the ID. Buzz have each been built on their own lines since the end of July. In addition to the standard version, the pure electric van line can also include the ID. Buzz with a long wheelbase and the GTX all-wheel-drive variant.
It is difficult to estimate what such a partial relocation would mean for the plant. The ID. Buzz is selling worse than planned. The MEB van is a long way off the 130,000 vehicles per year that were once targeted, with less than 15,000 deliveries of the model in the first half of the year. Since the summer just passed, production on both lines has only been carried out in two daytime shifts without needing a night shift involving surcharges for workers.
Demand for the T7 Multivan and the ID. Buzz has failed to fully utilise the capacity of the Hanover-Stöcken plant. After the T6.1 is discontinued, the next generation of vans will be built in Turkey in cooperation with Ford – including the electric versions. This means that instead of producing commercial vehicle variants in Hanover, the remaining production requirements involve only the T7 Multivan for private customers and the ID. Buzz in the passenger car and commercial vehicle versions. The T7 Multivan is based on Volkswagen’s MQB, the ID. Buzz is based on the MEB, and both are passenger car platforms.
In the meantime, any kind of production for other Group brands in the plant that was under discussion has also failed to materialise. While Hannoversche Allgemeine reported on a ‘battery coupé for Porsche’, the plans surrounding the Artemis project to build electric luxury models for Bentley and Audi at VWCV in Hanover that were announced some time ago were also cancelled.
Looking at the situation against this background, even a partial relocation of the ID. Buzz would be a serious blow for the Hanover plant. After all, with only two model series currently underutilising the plant’s capacity and even one model series being partially withdrawn with a complete relocation under discussion, the question arises as to whether the remaining production in Hanover makes sense. Since Volkswagen executives publicly revealed plans to close several German plants, the atmosphere among VWCV employees is unlikely to improve. The fourth round of collective bargaining at Volkswagen starts on Monday.
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