VW Ramps Up German Factory Productivity

Volkswagen plans to boost production volumes at its main plant in Wolfsburg, Germany, to about 1 million vehicles per year, bundling all global Golf production at one location.

Coinciding with the launch of the Golf 8, production now in Zwickau, Germany; and Puebla, Mexico; will be relocated to the main plant in Wolfsburg, along with manufacturing of the new Seat Tarraco.

“We are planning to increase productivity 25% at all German factories by 2020,” says Andreas Tostmann, VW Brand board member responsible for production and logistics. “Further efforts are needed at VW in the future to remain competitive, particularly post-2020.”

The VW brand’s production department has a new strategy to further improve production efficiency. This involves measures designed to significantly reduce the complexity of manufacturing and increase standardization throughout the global production network.

“A competent, globally leading production network is one of the biggest levers for value enhancement in the VW Group,” Tostmann says. “The VW brand has made substantial progress in recent years. We are on the right track. In an industry comparison we are mid-range. We intend to catch up and become one of the best.”

VW will announce the cornerstones of its new production strategy at the end of September and present details of the planned measures and action areas.