Volkswagen builds new e-car factory to take on Tesla
The new factory is to be built near Volkswagen’s headquarters in Wolfsburg, the company announced. The car, which is currently being devised under the development name Trinity and on which Volkswagen is pinning its hopes in the intensifying competition with Tesla, is to be built there. According to media reports, the construction of the new factory will require several hundred million euros in investment, and it is scheduled to go into operation from 2026.
At that time, volume production of the Trinity model is to start. This is a completely newly developed vehicle that, in addition to its own mechanics, networking and traction technology, will also contain the software that is currently being developed by Volkswagen’s software subsidiary Cariad and is intended to enable new business models in addition to functional elements. Technically, Trinity is based on the SSP platform, which other Volkswagen Group companies such as Audi and Porsche can also use.
Building a factory exclusively for electric vehicles is a drastic step for Volkswagen. But Volkswagen has a productivity disadvantage compared to Tesla: while it takes only ten hours to build a complete car on Tesla’s highly automated production line, Volkswagen needs around 27 hours in its existing e-vehicle factory. Only a factory designed from scratch could achieve such a short production time as its archrival, Volkswagen said. Afterwards, the optimised production lines could also be moved into the main plant.
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