Como prometido pela fabricante, o Volkswagen ID.3 teve sua produção iniciada em Zwickau (Alemanha), se preparando para o lançamento comercial no 2º trimestre de 2020. O hatch já passou de 35 mil encomendas, embora a marca ofereça somente 30 mil unidades da versão de lançamento 1st Edition.
Com um aumento gradual da produção, a fábrica em Zwickau deve chegar a 100 mil unidades por ano até o final de 2020, passando para 330 mil veículos produzidos anualmente em 2021. O complexo será usado não só para os carros da linha ID da Volkswagen, como também para futuros elétricos de outras marcas do Grupo VW.
E vem mais um elétrico por aí
A fábrica de Zwickau será a maior produtora de carros elétricos da Europa. A conversão para produzir somente modelos elétricos foi um grande desafio para a fabricante alemã, já que está acontecendo sem parar a montagem de modelos com motores a combustão.
"Com a transformação em fases da fábrica em Zwickau, a Volkswagen está convertendo uma grande fábrica de carros para a mobilidade elétrica pela primeira vez. São 1,2 bilhão de euros investidos nesta conversão. Na fase final de expansão, em 2021, seis modelos com plataforma MEB de três marcas do Grupo VW serão feitos em Zwickau. Todos os 8 mil funcionários foram qualificados para a produção de EVs e para trabalhar com tecnologia de alta-voltagem. No total, a equipe em Zwickau terá completado cerca de 13 mil dias de treinamento até o fim de 2020, garantindo postos de trabalho à prova do futuro para a fábrica de Zwickau."
Thomas Ulbrich, membro da diretoria da Volkswagen para mobilidade elétrica, comenta:
“O ID.3 é um carro high-tech de uma fábrica high-tech. Com cerca de 1.700 robôs, transporte automatizado e processos de manufatura totalmente automatizados, Zwickau dá uma visão atual da forma de produção de alto-volume dos carros elétricos pensando no futuro. No fim, são as pessoas que constroem os carros que são a chave para o sucesso: nosso time dominou os dois anos de conversão, culminando no início da produção com muito conhecimento e dedicação. É uma conquista sensacional para a equipe!”
Galeria: Volkswagen ID.3: Início da produção
O complexo será abastecido com componentes importantes, como motores elétricos ou sistemas de baterias, vindos de outras fábricas da Volkswagen na Alemanha:
- Brunswick
- Kassel
- Salzgitter
- Wolfsburg
O próximo passo será produzir carros elétricos com a plataforma MEB também em Emden e Hanover, a partir de 2022.
Até 2028, o Grupo Volkswagen pretende vender cerca de 22 milhões de carros mundialmente, incluindo 11,6 bilhões na China.
Volkswagen initiates system changeover to e-mobility – Production of the ID.3 starts in Zwickau
- Ceremony with Federal Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel
- Zwickau plant to become largest electric car factory in Europe
- Conversion to production of electric cars strengthens automotive manufacturing base in Germany and creates strong cluster for electric vehicles
- Dr. Herbert Diess: “With the ID.3 we are making an important contribution to the breakthrough of e-mobility.”
Volkswagen’s electric offensive is picking up speed: Today saw the official start of series production of the ID.3. The first car in the new generation of electric vehicles (EVs) – a white ID.3 – rolled off the assembly line watched by Federal Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel and Group CEO Dr. Herbert Diess. The Volkswagen Group plans to sell some 22 million EVs worldwide by 2028, thus helping EVs make the breakthrough. Zwickau has a key role to play in this endeavor: For the first time, a large car manufacturing plant is being entirely converted to e-mobility, with investments running at €1.2 billion. Zwickau is already scheduled to produce some 100,000 electric models next year. From 2021, up to 330,000 EVs will leave the assembly line each year, making the site the largest and most efficient EV factory in Europe and a trailblazer in the transformation of Volkswagen’s global production network.
“The ID.3 will make an important contribution to the breakthrough of e-mobility. It makes clean individual mobility accessible to millions of people and is a milestone for our company on the road to becoming climate-neutral by 2050”, Group CEO Herbert Diess said at the ceremony in Zwickau.
Carbon-neutral production of the ID.3
The ID.3 is based on Volkswagen’s Modular Electric Drive Toolkit (MEB). This is an all-electric platform that leverages to the full the opportunities offered by e-mobility. Consequently, the ID.3 has a long range, a very spacious interior and dynamic vehicle handling. The basic version is priced at under €30,000 in Germany. The ID.3 will be launched almost simultaneously on markets throughout Europe in summer 2020. Over 35,000 international customers have already reserved an ID.3 and paid a pre-booking deposit.
The ID.3 sets new benchmarks in sustainability: Production is carbon-neutral, which means the car is delivered to customers with a carbon-neutral footprint. Green power is exclusively used in energy-intensive battery cell production for the ID.3, for example. Emissions from the entire production process that are currently unavoidable are offset, among other things through investments in the “Katingan Mataya Forest Protection” climate project on the Indonesian island of Borneo.
All 8,000 employees participate in qualification program
With the phased transformation of the Zwickau factory, Volkswagen is fully converting a large car manufacturing plant to e-mobility for the first time. Some €1.2 billion is being invested in the conversion. In the final expansion stage from 2021, six MEB models from three Group brands will be built in Zwickau. Qualification measures are preparing all 8,000 employees for EV production and working with high-voltage technology. In total, the Zwickau team will have completed some 13,000 training days by the end of 2020, thus ensuring future-proof jobs at the Zwickau plant.
“The ID.3 is a high-tech car from a high-tech factory. With some 1,700 robots, driverless transport systems and fully-automated manufacturing processes, Zwickau gives a contemporary insight into the shape of forward-looking high-volume production of EVs”, Thomas Ulbrich, Volkswagen Brand Board Member for E-Mobility, commented. “Ultimately, though, it is the people who build the cars who are the key to success: Our team in Saxony mastered the two-year conversion phase culminating in today’s SOP with much know-how and dedication. An outstanding team achievement!”
Strong cluster for EVs in German automotive manufacturing
With its resolute entry into e-mobility, Volkswagen is making an important contribution to climate protection and thereby creating long-term perspectives for some 100,000 employees at its German plants. “Germany must drive the change and achieve proficiency throughout the e-mobility value chain. That is why we are producing EVs in Germany and have at the same time taken the decision to develop and manufacture electric motors as well as battery cells and systems. A strong cluster for EVs will emerge in Germany in the coming years”, Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess said.
Apart from manufacturing at the Zwickau factory, the Components plants in Brunswick, Kassel, Salzgitter and Wolfsburg are also involved in ID.3 production. They manufacture key components such as the electric motors or the battery systems. The car manufacturing plants in Emden and Hanover are scheduled to begin building EVs from 2022. Moreover, the Group is also cooperating with Northvolt to set up a major battery cell factory in Salzgitter.
A comprehensive information package on SOP of the ID.3 including speeches, presentations, booklet, photos and videos is available at id3.vw-newsroom.com.