As the world rapidly shifts towards sustainable and electric mobility, Europe’s largest car manufacturer, Volkswagen, is taking crucial steps towards the production of electric vehicles. The brand has already converted its Zwickau and Emden passenger car plants to electric vehicles, and now it’s Wolfsburg plant, the largest of its German sites, is set to become an electric vehicle factory in the coming years. The new production line for ID.3 and the new Tiguan will be installed in the Wolfsburg factory over the next few months.
Volkswagen’s eMotionDay training program, which will run until 2025, is part of the brand’s push to upskill its production employees in e-mobility. The program includes an emotional aspect with the introduction of the eMotionRoom, designed to provide an entertaining experience of the transformation process from ICE to electric vehicles to the factory’s 22,000 production employees. The eMotionRoom is part of a one-day training program where groups of four employees must solve various puzzles and problems in intricately designed rooms, with the challenge beginning with a journey back in time to the 19th century.
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The eMotionRoom is just one of the several innovative training and development concepts that Volkswagen is implementing as it moves towards becoming a provider of sustainable and software-oriented mobility. According to Gunnar Kilian, Board Member for Human Resources, “The more digital our world becomes, the more crucial our team’s skills become for our competitiveness.”
Volkswagen’s Deputy Chairman of the General Works Council, Gerardo Scarpino, shared that the eMotionRoom has already met with very positive feedback from employees in Zwickau and is now included for Wolfsburg as well. He added that the transition to e-mobility can only happen together with colleagues and that inspiring and training them is crucial to collective success.
Christian Vollmer, Volkswagen Brand Board of Management Member for Production and Logistics, acknowledged the fundamental transformation of car manufacturing in Germany. He said, “Wolfsburg is special in that ICE vehicles will also still be built here for many years to come. In other words: For Wolfsburg, the upcoming transformation is first and foremost about integration – interfacing smoothly with ongoing operations and with production. That is a very special challenge.”
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The Wolfsburg plant is set to begin subassembly of the ID.3 this fall, followed by full production of substantial numbers of the popular electric model from mid-2024. The new production line will give Volkswagen more flexibility than ever before and will be the first at one of the brand’s passenger car plants in Germany that can build both MEB and ICE vehicles on the same line. The brand is investing an initial €460 million through early 2025, with the majority being invested in production facilities and the rest earmarked for retraining and necessary conversion measures.
Volkswagen’s innovative training program and the brand’s push towards sustainable and software-oriented mobility are promising steps towards a cleaner and greener future. With the implementation of such programs and investments, the brand is not only upskilling its workforce but also investing in the necessary infrastructure for a sustainable future. The automotive industry is rapidly changing, and Volkswagen’s transformation serves as a model for other car manufacturers to follow suit in the transition towards a sustainable future.
