A transparent factory (Glaeserne Manufaktur) in Dresden, Germany, is Ferdinand Piëch’s dream. But the location something has no luck with the car models produced there. Neither the VW Phaeton succeeded, the VW e-Golf was displaced by the VW ID.3, and now the brand has decided to end production of the ID.3 in Dresden. The model will continue to be produced in Zwickau, Germany, and in Wolfsburg, Germany.
The end of the VW ID.3 in Dresden
Glaeserne Manufaktur was founded in 2002, it started by producing the Volkswagen Phaeton, an F-segment luxury limousine. Starting in 2017, the VW e-Golf was assembled there; on January 29, 2021, the e-Golf was replaced by the VW ID.3. In 2022, 6,500 units of the electric compact were produced there. German weekly Automobilwoche has learned that the model will no longer be produced there, but did not give an exact date when assembly will be halted. The reason for the decision is cost-cutting, the end of production is expected to result in savings of 20 million euros (equivalent to 93 million zlotys) per year.
The VW ID.3 production line in Dresden (c) Volkswagen
Three hundred full-time employees at the plant are to be diverted to other tasks, including innovation and testing, writes Automobilwoche (source; behind paywall). The Volkswagen ID.3 is still being produced in Zwickau, and is also leaving Volkswagen’s main plant in Wolfsburg, although there the number of cars being assembled is expected to be “in the low double digits” per day.
Fortunately, there is also good news: the Zwickau plant plans to gradually increase production of the ID.3 and Audi Q4 e-tron. In addition, production of the VW ID.7 took off at the Emden (Germany) plant in late August. Volkswagen is counting on the new E-segment electric to help the company rebound. It should interest those buyers who were looking for a large family electric non-SUV, but didn’t want to pay for a Tesla Model S or Mercedes EQE.
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