The first Volkswagen ID.3 hatchback has just rolled off the company’s assembly line in Zwickau, Germany.
The automaker claims it has already received 35,000 pre-orders for the model, even though the planned production run for the 1st Edition ID.3 amounts to just 30,000 units. The Zwickau factory has been upgraded to produce up to 100,000 EVs annually by the end of next year and 330,000 EVs by the end of 2021. It will be producing six different car models representing three different VW Group marques.
Ultimately, the corporation expects its factory to become the single largest EV producer in Europe and gradually discontinue making traditional, ICE-powered cars.
Aside from 8,000 employees, the facility employs 1,700 robots and has a self-driving vehicle network. Many routine procedures occur in an automated or completely automatic fashion. The current investment volume amounts to €1.2 billion.
By 2028, Volkswagen expects to sell up to 22,000,000 electric cars globally. This number also includes vehicles scheduled for production in Hannover, Emden, and China.