VW Stops Golf and Passat Production At Several Plants Due to Supply Breakdown

As if Dieselgate wasn’t enough

Volkswagen is facing an interruption in component deliveries coming from the carmaker's external supplier, which put the company in the position to stop production at some of its plants in Germany.

The measures affect production activities for the brand's Passat and Golf, as well as for components like gearboxes and exhaust systems. In a statement released today, VW announced a list of plants affected by the shortage, available below:

Emden: Passat production, August 18 – 24, number of employees affected: approx. 7,500.

Wolfsburg: some segments of production: Golf, August 22 – 27, number of employees affected: approx. 10,000.

Zwickau: Golf and Passat production, August 22 – 26, number of employees affected: approx. 6,000.

Kassel: some segments of transmission and exhaust systems production, August 25 – 29, number of employees affected: approx. 1,500.

Salzgitter: some segments of engine production, August 24 – 30, number of employees affected: approx. 1,400.

Braunschweig: some segments of chassis components and plastic parts production, August 22 – 29, number of employees affected: approx. 1,300.

This official statement comes in the wake of a report published by Automotive News last week, which claimed that 'Volkswagen plans to suspend production of its Golf model […] for a few days in October and December.' The Golf is currently the best-selling vehicle in Europe.

A second report, this time on Automotive News Europe, said that VW is negotiating with two suppliers that 'accused the carmaker of cancelling contracts without explanation or offering compensation, prompting them to stop deliveries.'

Furthermore, according to the same media outlet, VW also confirmed a report that appeared in the German publication Bild, which said that the Wolfsburg-based carmaker would stop production of the Golf compact between 4-7 October and 19-22 December, with the reason being an overstock of vehicles.

As an additional measure, Volkswagen is also looking into short-time work schedules, in case the situation will require such an approach.