Source: Gasgoo
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According to foreign media reports, Volkswagen Group will suspend production of the Volkswagen ID.3 and Cupra Born hatchbacks in Germany this week, and the suspension is expected to last until the end of the year.
The Volkswagen Zwicaku plant has experienced a number of production challenges this year. In October, production of the ID.3 and Born was halted for two weeks, and after production resumed in November, the plant canceled the third production shift.
The reason for frequent production suspensions should come from the demand side. Consumer demand for these two cars is lower than expected, which has brought huge challenges to the Volkswagen Group, so that the measures taken previously did not solve the problem of supply and demand imbalance. As a result, the group has decided to suspend the production of the two cars once again and the suspension will last for up to a month.
Image source: Volkswagen
To make matters worse, the production line at the Zwickau plant, which is responsible for producing crossovers and SUVs (Volkswagen ID.4, ID.5, Audi Q4 e-tron and Q4 Sportback e-tron), has been suspended for about three weeks due to a lack of supply of rear-wheel drive units.The supply issue with the Volkswagen Group’s new APP550 drive unit also involves other plants in Europe.
However, the good news is that reports indicate that Volkswagen is expected to restart production of crossovers and SUVs this week, but it is unclear whether the company will resume full production or limited production.
According to German media reports, the situation at Volkswagen Group is becoming “critical” after CEO Thomas Schaefer warned employees about the brand’s lack of competitiveness.
The Zwickau plant did not renew the contracts of 269 employees this year, and a company spokesman said that nearly 500 temporary workers would also not be able to renew their contracts next year. Reports say layoffs related to production cuts may continue into 2024.
