Volkswagen to strengthen global facilities with P1.4T investment

Volkswagen’s plan to transform their future by 2025 is on full swing, as they announced a massive investment strategy to strengthen their global plants. Actually, ‘massive’ is an understatement, as the amount we’re talking about is around P1.4 trillion (€22.8 billion) — a huge chunk of that goes to e-mobility and further development of modular production.

Of course, majority of the investment (around P838 billion) will go to their home-based facilities in Germany. The Zwickau plant will be one of the key factories that will undergo a lot of changes. This plant that employs more than 7,000 workers will be transformed into a pure e-mobility facility, off-loading its previous tasks of making the top-selling Golf and Passat.

As such, the Zwickau factory will witness the birth of the Volkswagen I.D. — the first all-electric compact vehicle that will use the modular electric drive kit (MEB) platform of the German brand. It will be simultaneously launched around the world in 2020, with a projected production of 100,000 vehicles.

The Zwickau plant will also serve as the breeding grounds for the other EVs in queue, such as the Kombi-inspired I.D. Buzz and I.D. Crozz crossover.

MEB vs MQB

The MEB platform is conceived primarily for the future of automobiles, which is deemed to be electric cars and better mobility. To become the best in this segment, the MEB platform promises vehicles with 400- to 600-km range, rapid charging, and features package that is comparable to the price of a diesel-powered car.

On the other hand, the MQB platform is the current blueprint of Volkswagen cars. With its modular engineering, production is faster and more efficient. However, When MQB was made in 2012, EVs weren’t in the picture yet. This explains the birth of MEB platform that applies the MQB principles in making electric cars.

With the Zwickau factory going full force in making EVs, the production of the next-generation Golf and Passat will move to Wolfsburg and Emden plants, respectively. Other MQB platform models will be spread through global facilities at Pamplona in Spain, Palmela in Portugal, and Bratislava in Slovakia. Plants in Mexico, USA, South America, and Russia are targeted to make the bigger market-oriented SUVs.

As for the parts and components, German plants will receive their own share of investments — amounting to P102 billion spread through Brunswick, Kassel, and Emden facilities.