VW board meets to discuss production rejig, Trinity plant

Jessica Thompson

BERLIN — Volkswagen Group’s supervisory board was meeting on Friday to discuss reshuffling its production network and to decide whether to build a new factory for its Trinity electric sedan, a source close to the company said.

A plan to build a new plant near the company’s Wolfsburg headquarters was conceived under former CEO Herbert Diess, but was called into question at the end of last year.

VW brand chief Thomas Schaefer said in December that the carmaker would decide by early February whether to build the factory or produce the new Trinity electric sedan in the main Wolfsburg plant, which will have additional capacity by the time production of the new model is slated to begin.

The board will also discuss which new models could be produced at Volkswagen’s Hanover plant after production of the VW Bus 6.1 comes to an end, and its Osnabrueck plant, which could be assigned a new Porsche model, the German busines paper Handelsblatt reported.

Employees fear 1,000 jobs could be at risk in Hanover if the plant is not allocated a new model, the paper said, citing sources close to the workforce. The works council declined to comment.

The planning round is the first since VW Group CEO Oliver Blume took over the company last autumn and postponed the meeting from its original planned date in November.

Blume has swept through the carmaker’s strategic plans since taking over to streamline its operations, a marked contrast from Diess, known for developing elaborate vision but criticized by some, including the works council, for lacking clear execution.

The supervisory board will meet again in early March to conclude the plans and prepare to present them on March 14 at the carmaker’s annual results conference, the source said.

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