Volkswagen has greenlighted a new $2.2 billion investment to build a new factory in Wolfsburg, Germany.
The new factory will be used to produce the upcoming electric vehicle developed under the “Trinity” project, a high-efficiency electric car.
Trinity has been touted as VW’s next flagship electric car built from the ground up to be easier and cleaner to manufacture, and achieve a high level of efficiency.
Many reports linked the VW’s next flagship electric vehicle to Audi’s Artemis program, which aims to develop a “highly efficient electric vehicle.”
The German automaker has not revealed much more on the Trinity project, but it did disclose that it aims to achieve “a much shorter charging time” and “a range of over 700 kilometers” (435 miles).
Now Volkswagen announced that the new electric car is going to be produced a new plant that is going to be built near the existing Wolfsburg-Warmenau factory:
“Volkswagen has reached another milestone in its transformation journey: A new manufacturing facility for the Trinity electric model is to be built close to the main plant in Wolfsburg, with investment totaling some €2 billion. The Group’s Supervisory Board passed a resolution to this effect today. The new Trinity factory is a key component of the largest modernization program in the history of Volkswagen’s main location. Construction work in the Warmenau district of Wolfsburg is to begin as early as spring 2023 and will take account of building and environmental law. In so doing, the new site will meet high environmental standards. To that end, Volkswagen will engage in an intensive exchange with the relevant authorities as well as with stakeholders. The net carbon-neutral Trinity model, built using the most innovative manufacturing methods, is to roll off the assembly line from 2026. The new facility with its optimized processes will therefore become a model for the gradual transformation of production at the main Wolfsburg plant along with all other Volkswagen manufacturing sites worldwide.”
VW has previously talked about the Trinity coming to market “mid-decade”, but it now gives a timeline of 2026.
With today’s announcement, the German automaker also said that it aims to improve speed and efficiency of production to achieve a production time of 10 hours per vehicle:
“Volkswagen also intends to set standards in Trinity production when it commences in 2026, and is aiming for a production time of 10 hours per vehicle. The key: Fewer variants, fewer components, more automation, leaner production lines and new logistic concepts. Campus Sandkamp creates the framework for optimal, time-efficient collaboration among all areas of Volkswagen through modern working practices.”
That’s something that CEO Herbert Diess said that the automaker needs to focus on if it wants to be able to compete with Tesla.
The CEO said that Tesla is expected to achieve the mark of 10 hours per car at Gigafactory Berlin while VW is at 30 hours per car at Zwickau.
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