From September on, only cars whose consumption has been measured using the new WLTP process may be sold. That does not create Volkswagen in all models – and expects delivery bottlenecks.
VW plant in Wolfsburg
Sunday, 27.05.2018
15:01 clock
When converting to the new exhaust test standard WLTP calculates Volkswagen at its core brand with temporary gaps in August production. This meant temporarily less employment because of lower capacity utilization, said HR Manager Martin Rosik the employee magazine “Inside”,
The new test cycle WLTP will be binding for all new cars in September. It should better reflect actual consumption as well as levels of pollutant and CO2 emissions. However, the test procedure is expensive, and car makers may be forced to reschedule part of their normal operations. Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess would have Already warned of supply bottlenecks at the Annual General Meeting in early May,
“At full speed” is working to keep the impact as low as possible, said head of staff Rosik the employee magazine. Nevertheless, supply bottlenecks are possible on certain models. Some variants, which until then would not have a WLTP certificate, would have to be removed from the program for the time being.
Currently, a production program is in progress, “with which we master the phase optimally,” said Rosik. The implementation is expected to be discussed with the works council at the end of May or the beginning of June. The employees working on the test benches worked in three shifts so that as many vehicles as possible were certified to WLTP by September. Nevertheless, probably not every variant will be available in time.
According to Rosik in “Inside”, Wolfsburg has the “greatest need for optimization”. In Zwickau, where the all-electric ID model family will be built in the future, the effects are expected to be lower. In Emden rather the model change the Passat play a role.
Also BMW had recently announced that the transition to WLTP is not going smoothly. Thus, the car maker temporarily stops the production of several models with gasoline engines for the European market. The BMW 7 Series should even be taken out of the offer as a gasoline engine in Europe for a year.