Volkswagen Group’s electrical automobile manufacturing unit in Zwickau, Germany must pause manufacturing of a number of the MEB-based fashions.
In response to Freie Presse (through Electrive) and Automotive Information Europe, the corporate’s largest EV manufacturing unit was negatively affected by an inadequate provide of the all-new APP550 electrical motors from the Kassel plant.
The brand new motors had been launched earlier this 12 months and fitted to quite a lot of MEB-based fashions, bringing extra energy and torque – respectively 210 kilowatts and 550 Newton-meters – and better effectivity in comparison with the earlier mannequin, which was rated at 150 kW and 310 Nm.
In response to the corporate’s spokesperson, the manufacturing of e-drives on the Volkswagen Group Parts web site in Kassel is presently restricted.
The brand new motors are used within the newest variations of the Volkswagen ID.4, Volkswagen ID.5, Audi This fall e-tron, and Audi This fall Sportback e-tron, that are produced in Zwickau. Due to that, the manufacturing is likely to be paused for so long as three weeks and have an effect on greater than 1,000 out of round 8,000 staff on the web site, the report says.
The Volkswagen ID.3 and Cupra Born hatchbacks, additionally produced on the Zwickau plant, usually are not affected as a result of they nonetheless use the older 150-kW electrical motor.
The report signifies that the Volkswagen Group will redirect the restricted variety of APP550 to the Emden plant in order that manufacturing of the newly launched Volkswagen ID.7 will not be interrupted (the ID.4 can also be produced in Emden).
It is tough to say what brought about the bottleneck on the e-drive manufacturing unit, however hopefully, it is short-term. Nonetheless, it is one other story about interruptions on the Volkswagen Group factories, after a number of studies about inadequate demand and manufacturing cuts.
When initially changing the Zwickau plant from 100% ICE automobiles to 100% all-electric automobiles, the corporate wished to provide six fashions at a charge of round 330,000 yearly. Because it seems, it isn’t that simple.
Sooner or later, the Zwickau manufacturing unit is predicted to provide a brand new mannequin primarily based on the upcoming SSP platform (the Trinity challenge).