Volkswagen's unclaimed plants have attracted interest from Chinese manufacturers - Reuters

By: Volodymyr Kolominov | 16.01.2025, 12:31
Volkswagen plant in Osnabrück: innovations and future prospects Volkswagen Osnabrück plant in Lower Saxony. Source: Volkswagen

Chinese officials and carmakers are showing interest in German plants that are planned to be closed. They are particularly interested in Volkswagen plants, a source familiar with the Chinese government's position told Reuters.

Here's What We Know

Before Christmas, Volkswagen announced a restructuring of the company. Under the "Zukunft Volkswagen" plan, the German company will cut 35,000 jobs and reduce production capacity by 734,000 vehicles per year by 2030. Together with cost reductions for new developments, these measures will save the company more than €4.0bn a year in the medium term.

Volkswagen's two car assembly plants were left with dim prospects for the future. The Dresden plant (the famous "Gläserne Manufaktur") will stop producing the VW ID.3 electric car as early as 2025, and the Volkswagen Osnabrück plant will stop production of Volkswagen's only convertible, the VW T-Roc Cabrio, in mid-2027. What to do with these enterprises next, the company's management has not yet come up with.

A Reuters source familiar with the company's plans told the news agency that it is open to selling the Volkswagen Osnabrück plant to a Chinese buyer. Stephan Soldanski, a spokesman for the local labour union, said workers at the plant were potentially not opposed to making products for one of Volkswagen's Chinese joint venture partners. But on the condition that it would be products under the VW logo and to VW standards.

Chinese carmakers in Europe

A number of Chinese carmakers have previously announced the construction of new plants in Europe or the acquisition of existing ones. For example, BYD plans to produce cars in Hungary and Turkey. Leapmotor will jointly with Stellantis produce electric cars in Poland, and Chery Auto this year will start producing electric cars at a plant in Spain, formerly owned by Nissan.

Source: Reuters