Volkswagen Group has revised its production plans for its electric vehicle plant in Zwickau, keeping the Cupra Born in long-term production at the site and extending output of the VW ID.3, easing earlier concerns that the factory would be left with only a single model line.
Under a collective bargaining agreement reached shortly before Christmas 2024, Zwickau was expected to lose production of both the ID.3 and Cupra Born to Wolfsburg from 2026, alongside the planned discontinuation of the VW ID.5 and the relocation of ID.4 production to Emden. That would have left the Saxony plant producing only the Audi Q4 e-tron and its Sportback variant.
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However, management told employees at a recent works meeting that those plans will not be fully implemented. The Cupra Born will continue to be built exclusively in Zwickau, while the relocation of the ID.3 has been postponed, allowing the compact electric model to remain in production at the site for longer. Volkswagen Sachsen did not reference the revised planning in its anniversary statement, which still noted that models would be transferred to other sites over the longer term.
According to reports by German news agency dpa and trade publication Automobilwoche, the partial reversal reflects a decision by Volkswagen to reorganise production allocations at its two largest German plants based on updated volume forecasts. The facelifted ID.3 PA is now expected to launch in Zwickau in the summer of 2026, with Wolfsburg taking on overflow production from 2027. The ID.3 GTI, planned for 2027, is expected to be built exclusively at Volkswagen’s main plant in Lower Saxony.
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The Wolfsburg factory had previously been prepared for ID.3 production to handle potential excess volumes from Zwickau, but demand initially fell short of expectations. While sales of the ID.3 have improved following several updates, it remains unclear whether volumes will be sufficient to require significant overflow production. Current plans still foresee the full transfer of ID.3 production to Wolfsburg from 2028.
Zwickau currently has annual capacity for around 300,000 electric vehicles and employs about 8,500 people. Even with the latest decision preserving its multi-brand status in the near term, production is expected to be reduced from two assembly lines to one once the ID.3 is phased out. At that point, the Cupra Born and Audi Q4 e-tron would be built together in a single hall.
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Earlier internal planning had envisaged a reduction of around 170,000 units at Zwickau by 2030 as part of Volkswagen Group’s broader plan to cut capacity for about 735,000 vehicles across Germany. It remains unclear whether that target still applies following the revised allocation.
Volkswagen recently concluded its five-year planning round covering investments and model allocation, but has yet to publish the results. Further clarity is expected at the group’s annual press conference in March. Market speculation has meanwhile persisted that production of the Audi Q4 e-tron could be shifted to the United States, a move that could again alter Zwickau’s long-term outlook.
