大众集团首次关停德国本土工厂

Core Viewpoint - Volkswagen Group has officially ceased vehicle production at its Dresden plant starting December 16, marking the first time in its 88-year history that it has shut down a factory in Germany due to declining demand in China and Europe, as well as the impact of U.S. tariffs [2] Group 1: Factory Overview - The Dresden plant, known as the "Transparent Factory," was established in 2002 and became a landmark for its visual production process, initially dedicated to the luxury Phaeton model [3] - The factory was built at a cost of €187 million and was designed without body manufacturing, painting, or stamping facilities, focusing solely on final assembly [3] - Despite its innovative design, the Phaeton model failed to meet sales expectations, leading to its discontinuation in 2016 after incurring losses of €2 billion for the company [5] Group 2: Transition and Production Changes - After the Phaeton's discontinuation, Volkswagen invested €20 million to modify the Dresden plant, which began producing the electric e-Golf in 2017 [6] - The plant transitioned to producing the ID.3 model, but its output remained low, with only 6,500 units produced in 2022, leading to plans to cease ID.3 production by 2023 [6] - The factory's cumulative production over 22 years was less than 200,000 vehicles, hindered by high operational costs in Germany [6] Group 3: Financial Pressures and Future Plans - The closure of the Dresden plant is part of a broader capacity reduction plan by Volkswagen, which aims to cut costs amid high manufacturing expenses and low productivity [8] - In December 2024, Volkswagen reached an agreement with labor unions to maintain operations in Germany while planning to reduce production capacity by over 70,000 units and cut 35,000 jobs by 2030 [8] - The Dresden site will be repurposed into a research park focusing on artificial intelligence, robotics, and chip development, while remaining open to the public as a tourist attraction [8][9] - Volkswagen reported a net loss of €1.072 billion in Q3 2025, marking its first quarterly loss in five years, and has lowered its profit expectations for 2025 due to pressures from declining sales in China and Europe, as well as U.S. tariffs [9]