Thomas Schaefer, the CEO of the Volkswagen brand, has not yet decided what will happen to the plans for the gigafactory in Sagunto (Valencia). In the first final resolution of the Electric and Connected Vehicle Perte (VEC), which allocated 877 million of the 3,975 available, the German consortium received 397 million, 230 more than originally planned.
“400 million is a significant sum,” the manager told the international press in a confidential product presentation. “However, it is less than we had anticipated and we have 10 days to decide whether to go ahead or not”.
At the event, which also served to take stock of his first 100 days at the helm of the brand, Schäfer wanted to emphasize Volkswagen’s future direction as the jewel in the crown of the Volume segment within the consortium, responsible for 80% of sales. and that also includes Seat, Cupra, Skoda and VW Commercial Vehicles.
“It is time to look forward and leave behind the suffering of diesel”. To do this, it intends to focus on reducing the complexity of its range and focus on models that combine well the “spirit” of each emblem. By 2026, they will have launched 10 new zero-emission models on the market and their new SSP platform will already be the skeleton of the new models.
This will be used for the first time in the Trinity project, for which a 460 million investment in a new assembly line in Wolfsburg (Germany), headquarters of Volkswagen, the brand that will lead the project. The SSP will also serve other zero-emission premium models from Audi or Porsche from 2026.
Also, within these launches there is an SUV based on the ID.3 – the compact will receive an aesthetic renewal in 2023 – or the two small models, a tourism and a crossover, which will be produced in the factories of Landaben (Navarra) and Martorell (Barcelona).
Schäfer was convinced that these models may be below the threshold of 25,000 euros, “despite the rise in the price of raw materials and inflation”. The way to deal with these more difficult trading conditions is through ‘optimal platform distribution’.
“The price of batteries has become tremendously expensive”pointed out the manager as one of the elements to focus on to tackle production efficiencies and keep costs low, which could be good news for Sagunto, considering the cost of bringing them from another country.
The group has decided to make its factories multi-brand spaces that operate with the same architecture and seek operational synergies. “For example, it makes a lot of sense that the ID.4 and the Skoda Enyaq are produced in the same factory. You get the biggest cost savings by investing once to use the same platform and ramping up production to the max.”
operational excellence
One of the objectives of Schäfer, who has characterized himself as “the person responsible for accelerating the freighter that is Volkswagen”, is to achieve an 8% margin on sales and 20% greater efficiencies among the brands facing 2025, “an aspirational goal,” he joked.
However, steps are being taken in that direction. Only with the exercise of “copying” (sharing) elements between the different brands within the Volume segment «More than 220 million euros have been saved». The Volkswagen Group will publish financial figures for the third quarter this Friday.
in foreign markets, VW will invest 7,000 million in the US, to “go from being a niche brand to a major player.” In the American country, they expect 60% of their sales to be zero emissions by 2030, boosted by the good reception that the ID electric van has had. Buzz.
Finally, with regard to China, Schäfer pointed out that “its manufacturers must be taken seriously”, who play the price advantage, but that, in Europe, Volkswagen has other strengths such as the dealer network or a historical legacy. “I don’t think restrictions are the right path,” he concluded.