VW to Build Trinity EV at Zwickau Facility; No Need for Additional Plant

Volkswagen, Europe’s largest automaker, announced plans on Friday to produce its next generation of Trinity electric vehicles (EVs) at its Zwickau factory. This decision marks a shift from the prior strategy of building an entirely new manufacturing facility, a plan initiated under the previous CEO.

The Trinity EV, which will leverage Volkswagen’s advanced scalable systems platform (SSP), was originally slated for a 2026 release. However, with the change in leadership to Oliver Blume, the project has been postponed by two years to address issues faced by the struggling software division, Cariad.

Initially, Volkswagen intended to construct a brand-new plant specifically for the Trinity model. Yet, due to delays in development, the company also considered repurposing its existing Wolfsburg factory.

Following a recent supervisory board meeting, Volkswagen determined that there was no longer a need for the additional plant in the Wolfsburg Warmenau area. Instead, the Trinity project will move to the Zwickau facility, which is currently dealing with decreased demand and transitioning away from its traditional three-shift production method that has been in place for over 30 years.

Furthermore, Volkswagen highlighted that its popular Golf model will lead the electric transition at the Wolfsburg plant, which faced a significant IT disruption earlier this week.

Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schaefer stated, “Within the context of our performance program, this newly approved vehicle allocation plan will make a substantial contribution to a strong, competitive VW brand.”