Volkswagen’s factories in Germany face a new challenge. For the first time, the company is receiving more orders at home for electric cars than for petrol or diesel models. The shift came earlier than Volkswagen expected, and the company is changing production schedules and factory routines.
The basic driver is the ID. Polo, Volkswagen’s compact electric car. It has already attracted over 40,000 orders across Europe. In Germany, demand is so high that every version is sold out. Waiting lists now stretch at least ten months, Automobilwoche reports. In Spain, the official starting price for the 116 CV version is 25,995 euros before discounts. It comes with a 37 kWh battery and a WLTP range of 334 km.
Volkswagen has moved quickly, rewriting production schedules at several plants. Tagesschau reports that the company plans to produce about 30,000 fewer vehicles than expected at its Wolfsburg plant this year, while Emden and Zwickau will increase output by several thousand electric cars. The Wolfsburg factory builds the Golf and Tiguan, and also produces the Tayron. It has dropped planned extra shifts. Output is now expected to stay around 580,000 vehicles this year, down from the earlier target of 600,000. Emden, where the ID.7 sedan and estate are built, is adding at least two extra shifts. Zwickau is also raising output after the updated ID.3 Neo drew strong interest.
Martin Sander, Volkswagen’s head of sales, called this a “turning point” for the industry. The company had planned to ramp up its new electric range more slowly, but cheaper electric models and rising petrol and diesel prices have lifted demand in Germany. Volkswagen uses the ID. Polo’s platform for the Cupra Raval and Skoda Epiq. The platform also underpins the Volkswagen ID. Cross. Together, these models have brought in another 60,000 orders, Motor1 reports. The ID. Cross, which opens for orders in July, starts at 36,628 euros before discounts. Industry sources cited by InsideEVs and Electrek say the shift is prompting a reallocation of production capacity across the group. It is also affecting related models on the same platform, including the Cupra Raval and Skoda Epiq.
The ID. Polo and ID. Cross are both made in Spain, at the Martorell and Landaben plants. Production of the Golf, meanwhile, will move to Mexico in 2027. German factories are so not the basic winners from the electric boom. The same pattern is emerging among new players such as Liux BIG, which reported earlier thousands of reservations before its Paris launch.
More electric sales do not mean bigger profits for Volkswagen. InsideEVs reports that the company still makes less money per electric car than from similar petrol or diesel models. Electric cars need fewer mechanical parts and less labor to build. Replacing one type of car with another does not keep German factories running at full speed. Volkswagen’s ongoing restructuring adds to the problem: the company plans to cut about 50,000 jobs, and the future of four German plants remains unclear. One exception is a deal to turn the Osnabrück site into an armaments factory with an Israeli fund.
Volkswagen is now betting on cheaper electric cars. A smaller, more affordable model, possibly called the ID. up!, is expected next year, though the name is not confirmed. It could bring Volkswagen’s electric range to more buyers. For Wolfsburg, the future depends on new electric versions of the Golf and T-Roc, planned for the next few years.
The rapid shift to electric orders in Germany marks a basic moment for Volkswagen and the wider European market. The company is moving quickly to meet demand, but the change is exposing problems at older factories and shifting labor needs, alongside gaps in profitability.
