Volkswagen has confirmed that it placed a massive order for robots to build the ID.4 electric SUV and ID.BUZZ electric minibus.
The German automaker is believed to be amongst the most serious legacy automaker when it comes to deploying electric vehicle production capacity.
Today, it reaffirmed that by announcing it placed a massive order of 2,200 industrial robots to be deployed at three different factories.
“The Volkswagen Passenger Cars and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles brands are working flat out on the transformation to the e-mobility era and the conversion of plants to e-mobility. The Volkswagen brand has now ordered more than 1,400 robots from Japanese manufacturer FANUC for its production facilities at Chattanooga (USA) and Emden. Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has ordered a further 800 robots for its Hanover plant from ABB of Switzerland. The robots are to be mainly used for body production and battery assembly. The three plants are currently being prepared for the production of electric cars using highly advanced facilities. From 2022, the ID.4 is to be produced at Chattanooga (USA) and Emden, while the model known under the show car name of ID. BUZZ is to roll off the production line at Hanover.”
VW launched the ID.4 last month, and it is already being produced in Germany, but VW is currently expanding its factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee to build the electric SUV starting in 2022.
Christian Vollmer, Member of the Board of Management of the Volkswagen brand responsible for Production and Logistics, commented:
“At Emden and Chattanooga, we are developing two of the most advanced production facilities in the automotive industry for the transformation to e-mobility. We are investing in the latest technologies such as digitalization and automation for this purpose even in the present situation.”
ID.BUZZ is the highly-anticipated revisited classic VW minibus with now a long-range electric powertrain.
It’s VW’s biggest EV that will be using its MEB platform for electric vehicles.
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Author: Fred Lambert
Source: Electrek
