A joint venture between Volkswagen and a Chinese manufacturer is one possibility. Such a partner could utilize one or more currently underused production lines to manufacture vehicles in Saxony. Clear European rules and standards would be a prerequisite. 'Our benchmark is not ideology, but industrial viability and secure jobs at VW in Saxony.' In Zwickau, VW exclusively builds fully electric vehicles such as the ID.3 and the Audi Q4 e-tron. According to company data, the plant employed 8,000 people at the end of 2025.
Volkswagen has been struggling for some time: the transition to electric vehicles is sluggish, Chinese manufacturers are disrupting the European market, and US tariff policy is making life difficult for domestic automakers. Chinese manufacturers such as BYD, Geely, and SAIC are pushing aggressively into the European market, reacting to fierce price wars and massive overcapacity in China. Several Chinese manufacturers are currently scouting for production sites in Europe, and Lower Saxony's Economy Minister Olaf Lies (SPD) recently suggested VW plants as potential candidates. However, experts view the move as risky. Horst Schneider, an analyst at Bank of America, described it as potentially inviting a 'wolf in sheep's clothing' into the company.
(Report by Myria Mildenberger. Edited by Ralf Bode. For inquiries, please contact our editorial office at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and economics) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets).)
