Volkswagen says conversion of the Volkswagen Sachsen vehicle factory in Zwickau (Germany) to the largest production site for electric mobility in Europe is on schedule, with more than 200 pre-production ID.3 cars already manufactured.

The first production vehicles are scheduled to roll off the assembly line at the end of 2019, and only electric cars will be built at Zwickau by the end of 2020 — up to 1,500 a day for Volkswagen and other Group brands.

Herbert Diess, CEO of the Volkswagen Group (www.volkswagen.com), said: “It is my firm conviction that Germany as an automotive location must also lead the way when it comes to electric mobility.

That is why we are converting the Zwickau plant into the largest and most efficient e-car site in Europe.

It is impressive to see what efforts the team is making to help achieve that transformation. Zwickau can become a model for transformation in our industry.”

Thomas Ulbrich, who is responsible for e-mobility, said: “The transformation to electric mobility is a huge task for Volkswagen, Volkswagen Sachsen and its workforce.

“We’ve successfully accomplished the first phase of that, and around half of the 1,500 new robots for body construction are already operating.

“The paint shop is currently being expanded and we’ll commence conversion of the first line in final assembly — as planned — in the summer.”

With regard to skills development for e-mobility, around 2,800 of the 8,000 employees at Zwickau have already undergone training.

Volkswagen is also expanding the charging infrastructure in Zwickau, from the current 36 charging points in and around the plant to some 180 in the coming 18 months.