Thread by @jpr007

ALARM BELLS

VW bosses want to radically rebuild their main plant in Wolfsburg to compete against Tesla

Last Thursday Volkswagen boss Herbert Diess and brand boss Ralf Brandstätter called all 120 top managers together in Wolfsburg for a crisis meeting
businessinsider.de/wirtschaft/kam…

Compared to Tesla and Chinese manufacturers, VW is too expensive and slow, they stressed

Now it is time to take up the "fight against Grünheide"

Therefore the plans for the main plant in Wolfsburg are to be revised and made more radical

In order to keep up, old buildings would probably soon be demolished and new ones erected

See here the report from this battlefront

Thursday evening at 5 pm at the Werksforum in Wolfsburg

VW boss Herbert Diess and brand boss Ralf Brandstätter stand side by side on stage

It is serious

The brand and the group are coming under increasing pressure on the global market

Not only in electrification and digitalisation is the world's largest carmaker lagging behind competitors

VW is also losing out in terms of productivity

If everything stays the same, Diess insists, VW will no longer be competitive

In the crisis meeting, the duo swears in the most important decision-makers for a revolution in Wolfsburg :

"We take great responsibility for this location," says Diess

"We must embrace the new competition

Diess calls for unity in the challenge ahead

"We need a will to live and a jolt at this site," he says

What does he mean by that ?

A radical restructuring of the main plant in Wolfsburg, an operation on Volkswagen's open heart

According to the plan, old buildings are to be demolished and new production halls built to make processes more efficient

Tesla and also the many new Chinese manufacturers produce vehicles cheaper and faster

At the same time, the quality of their vehicles is getting better and better and has now reached European standards

Consequently, according to automotive experts from the consulting firm Kearney, more than 70% of Chinese customers have already decided to buy their next premium vehicle from a Chinese manufacturer

Reasons: Top quality, favourable price

From their point of view, German models like the ID.4 cannot compete.

Brandstätter, who is not said to have the best relationship with the CEO, agrees with Diess in the crisis round :

"It is urgently necessary that the course is set anew in Wolfsburg" says Brandstätter

The future competition with Tesla's new Gigafactory would be brutal

The electric car pioneer would set new standards in car production

For example, a Tesla 3 is built in ten hours, more than three times as fast as a VW ID.3 in Zwickau

This puts Tesla in another dimension in terms of productivity and profitability

"... don't let Grünheide ruin our location" in Wolfsburg

While VW is still doing well on the German market, the deficits are already becoming apparent on the world markets

In Germany, VW is among the top 10 with six models, Brandstätter said

In the EU excluding Germany, however, there is not a single product in the top 10

The great hope for the future of the Wolfsburg location is the Trinity project :

- an e-car to be launched on the market in 2026

Diess makes it clear :

"Trinity must raise the location to a new competitive level, must revolutionise it. And also with new processes"

However, the board's previous designs for the project do not go far enough

The board is calling for much more radical solutions to save the Wolfsburg site

Diess :

"In the end, it is also about the jobs we have here. It is not Mr. Diess or the supervisory board or the employee representatives who decide about the jobs"

"It is the customer who decides and the customer buys the product that offers more quality, more features for a better price. That's why we have to take up the fight, attack and not let Grünheide destroy our location"

The fact that Diess likes to turn the cost screw is nothing new at Volkswagen

But the fact that he has Ralf Brandstätter at his side for his plans is evidence of a learning curve

The brand manager is very popular within the company and has a good relationship with the powerful works council

And only with the support of the workers' representatives should the revolution in Wolfsburg succeed quickly

The prospects are not bad

After the departure of works council head Bernd Osterloh, with whom Diess fought bitter power struggles, the course also seems to have changed

According to information from Business Insider, the new works council leader Daniela Cavallo is suddenly calling for another e-car for the Wolfsburg main plant

For the NEW Wolfsburg main plant ?