Ford EV Partner VW May Close At Least One German Plant

Ford EV partner (and rival) Volkswagen was keen to continue working to meet its electrification goals up until just recently, when the German company shifted gears amid lower-than-expected demand in growth across the globe. VW has long been one of the biggest proponents of electrification, even previously planning to launch as many as 75 new EVs globally by 2030. However, the automaker recently shifted gears and admitted that it will need to pivot to plug-in hybrids to compensate for falling EV demand. Now, that fallout continues, as VW is reportedly considering closing at least one of its plants.

According to Reuters, VW is thinking about closing at least one of its German production plants, though according to its works council, the automaker considers one large vehicle plant and one component factory in that same country to be “obsolete.” VW brass will reportedly meet with the works council to discuss this possibility, though as one might imagine, the latter entity isn’t thrilled with the idea of closing plants, noting that it plans to put up a “fierce resistance” to this plan, adding that the meeting will be “very uncomfortable” for management.

Amid troubling financial times for Volkswagen in Europe – not to mention Ford – the company is looking for ways to cut costs, though closing plants in Germany may prove to be a difficult task. Volkswagen’s works council head, Daniela Cavallo, is also a member of the IG Metall union, which has quite a tremendous influence in the country.

In fact, the same union represents Ford workers at the Saarlouis Assembly plant in Germany, where production of the Ford Focus is slated to end next year. However, the plant won’t close after that happens, and instead, will retain around 1,000 workers, who can stay at the plant through 2032 due to an agreement reached with IG Metall, though it’s currently unclear what they’ll be building.

We’ll have more on Volkswagen’s electrification plans soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for 24/7 Ford news coverage.