Volkswagen planning automated high-bay warehouse to store next-gen EV components

Volkswagen Group Components are expanding EV parts production at the Braunschweig plant in Germany. They target making 800,000 battery systems for the Group’s MEB and plug-in hybrid vehicles a year there once the factory is further geared up.

VW Group Components considers the Braunschweig site a competence centre within the Volkswagen Group “thanks to its many years of expertise in development, planning and production” of battery systems. Apart from the target of 800,000 battery systems per year in future, today’s statement left out further details on the conversion’s exact scope or timing.

Preparations for the future SSP platform have also already begun. The ‘Scalable Systems Platform’ is Volkswagen’s next-gen electric, digital and highly scalable vehicle platform on which the Group can build models in all brands and segments in the future. The site is investing around one billion euros in the transformation by 2026.

This also includes introducing digital solutions in battery system production. Plans for a special high-bay warehouse and the further shift of moving the heavy batteries to rail are already in place, according to the Group. However, it is not clear when they will implement these plans.

“The components locations are in the middle of a comprehensive transformation process. The Braunschweig site took to this task early on, phasing out products that are no longer viable and adding new products to the portfolio,” says Thomas Schmall, Group Board Member for Technology and Chairman of the Board of Volkswagen Group Components. “The challenges and efforts are enormous, but it’s the only way to secure the location and jobs in the long term.”

This latest expansion follows earlier increases in capacity. In 2021, Volkswagen had scaled to assemble up to 500,000 batteries per year for models such as the VW ID.3 and VW ID.4, as well as the Škoda Enyaq iV. Braunschweig will also produce up to 100,000 battery systems for the VW e-Up, Seat Mii Electric, Škoda Citigo e iV and hybrid vehicles such as the VW Golf GTE.

In addition to battery systems, VWGC also manufactures chassis components in Braunschweig – the site is also the lead plant for steering and axles. Changes for zero-emission and autonomous driving cars are also on the horizon in this area: A steer-by-wire steering system developed in Braunschweig could “pave the way to autonomous driving”, according to the announcement. In addition, VW is developing a “low-emission brake” with Audi to “meet the high requirements for fine dust-reduced EU7 brakes”.