AUTOMOTIVE ID . BUZZ PRODUCTION
VOLKSWAGEN
Up to 130,000 units per year from Hanover
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles ( VWCV ) is ringing in a new era of vehicle production at its Hanover plant . Production of the new allelectric ID . Buzz and ID . Buzz Cargo recently started there and the first vehicles will be delivered to customers in the autumn . The brand is therefore systematically pressing ahead with the electrification of the site and securing the future of VWCV in line with the GRIP 2030 strategy . In the course of the year the company plans to increase the plant ’ s daily production to a total of 900 vehicles . In future , there are plans to build up to 130,000 units per year at VWCV ’ s main plant .
With the production start of the ID . Buzz , the VWCV plant in Hanover is now the third German production site for vehicles of the ID . family .
“ The ID . Buzz is a milestone in the electrification of the brand and the plant in Hanover ”, says Josef Baumert , Member of the VWCV Brand Management Board for Production and Logistics . “ In just eight years ’ time more than 55 per cent of our vehicles in Europe will have battery-electric drive . The ID . Buzz has a leading strategic role in this ”, says Baumert .
This year VWCV is planning to produce a total of around 15,000 ID . Buzz . Baumert adds : “ As we develop our portfolio , after 2023 we will produce up to 130,000 units of the ID . Buzz and ID . Buzz Cargo at our Hanover plant .”
THREE VEHICLE CONCEPTS , ONE PLANT , FLEXIBLE PRODUCTION .
Since May of this year VWCV has produced three models at the Hanover plant . They are based on three different platforms and can have three different drives : the ID . Buzz as a battery-electric vehicle , the new Multivan as a plug-in hybrid and with conventional drive and the variants of the T6.1 with a combustion engine . In the factory the vehicles are partly produced on one line . “ Our production method is highly complex , but it enables us to respond flexibly to customer demand ”, says Baumert . Despite the many factory modifications over the past two years , production of the popular T6.1 continued uninterrupted .
4,000 EMPLOYEES TRAINED TO PRODUCE THE ID . BUZZ
The first all-electric vehicle from Hanover and new , digital systems also resulted in far-reaching new demands on the employees . During the start-up of the ID . Buzz 4,000 employees in the factory were trained for the production of the new vehicles . “ We trained our employees in high-voltage technology and also adapted our apprenticeships to the new tasks ”, Baumert adds . Apprenticeships offered by VWCV in Hanover include mechatronics technician for system and high-voltage technology .
Commenting on the production startup of the ID . Buzz , Baumert says : “ The workforce did a great job during this time : they accomplished training for the ID . Buzz parallel to the series production of the T6.1 and the new Multivan – and all this during the Covid-19 pandemic . I would like to thank all VWCV employees for their commitment and their determination to get the ID . Buzz off to a good start .”
INCREASED PRODUCTION OUTPUT
Modern digital systems and new processes enable the production to be increased at the site . By 2023 VWCV plans to produce up to 900 ID . Buzz , New Multivan and T6.1 per day in Hanover . Until now the maximum production was 810 vehicles .
BRAND FORGES AHEAD WITH AUTOMATION AND DIGITALISATION STRATEGY
New plants and processes in the factory : for the body construction of the ID . Buzz , the degree of automation has increased by 15 percentage points to 92 per cent compared to the T6.1 . Skilled workers manage large parts of the plants using computers and mobile devices such as smartwatches . Operators and machines are in constant contact . The robot systems report possible problems in good time , which can be solved during operation . Baumert sums up the development in Production in a nutshell : “ Hanover is on the way to becoming a ‘ smart factory ’.”
COMPONENTS TO PRODUCE THE MEB BATTERY SYSTEM IN HANOVER IN FUTURE
Volkswagen Group Components is responsible for assembling the whole front and rear axle of the ID . Buzz and ID . Buzz Cargo , the newest and largest vehicles to date to be based on the MEB , in nearby Barsinghausen . From there they are delivered to VWCV in Hanover . At the same site Group Components already produces hardware in the form of the flexible fast-charging station for establishing a fast-charging infrastructure for electric vehicles , and motor housings for the MEB . From 2024 the MEB battery system for the ID . Buzz , which is currently supplied from the Components site in Braunschweig , will also be assembled .
For further information , please visit www . volkswagen . de / de . html
34 PECM Issue 57