Apparently, Volkswagen is finally cashing in on the plans for a new plant in Wolfsburg for the prestige Trinity project. Instead, the group is pursuing “the strategy of converting factory by factory,” says CFO Antlitz in an internal interview.
The Wolfsburg-based carmaker Volkswagen has apparently finally buried its plans to build a new factory for the prestigious Trinity project. This is reported by the Business Insider portal, citing an internal interview with CFO Arno Antlitz. The conversation, which is available to the portal, is said to have been published on the group’s intranet on January 23.
In the conversation, which focuses on the transformation of the group’s car plants, two interviewers from the consulting firm Porsche Consulting ask Antlitz whether entire factories will soon have to be written off. The answer of the former McKinsey consultant is unequivocal: VW is “following the strategy of converting factory by factory. So we will not build any new electrical factories in Europe, but transform the existing ones.”
As a consequence, this should also mean the end of the planned additional factory for the Trinity project at the headquarters in Wolfsburg. The existing main plant on the Mittelland Canal would probably be converted instead. A new plant was originally planned in the northern district of Warmenau.
It is unclear what will become of the new Trinity. The first model of the ID successor generation was the favorite project of the old VW CEO Herbert Diess. It should be a flat-bottom electric car with a new electronics structure, a new operating system and level 4 autonomy – and at prices suitable for the masses.
Almost three months after Diess’ departure, successor Oliver Blume set his predecessor’s favorite project, which was supposed to symbolize the start of a new electric era for the Volkswagen brand, to zero. Massive delays, especially with the software, pushed the schedule more and more into arrears. VW had to start a transition phase. New electric cars with well-known names such as Golf, Polo or Tiguan now have priority.
Depending on their success and design, VW will probably weigh up whether the Trinity as an independent model still has a future in the Wolfsburg model network. A McKinsey analysis predicted that Volkswagen would lose billions in the middle of last year due to the delays in the Cariad software division. There are also problems in China and growing competition.
At the beginning of the month, Blume presented the five-year plan for investments and the occupancy of the plants to the supervisory board. “The group is accelerating the electrification of its locations and aligning its activities with the most attractive profit pools,” it said. The Executive Board examined all projects and checked their viability. The product strategy has been sharpened. No further details were given. The company wants to announce this at its balance sheet press conference on March 14th.
