Volkswagen is reportedly looking into building military vehicles at its Osnabrück factory.
Two army vehicles based on the VW models Amarok and Crafter were developed there in strict secrecy, report the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung” (NOZ) and the NDR. Both vehicles were recently shown at the Enforce Tac military trade fair in Nuremberg – without the VW logo on the stand of a vehicle conversion specialist.
VW confirmed the development at the request of the German Press Agency, but remained tight-lipped about further planning. “The Volkswagen Osnabrück plant has developed various vehicle concepts in recent months and presented them at Enforce Tac in order to explore possible market opportunities and perspectives,” said a spokeswoman for the site. “It is currently unclear whether and to what extent concrete projects will result from this.”
Around 2,300 people work at the factory in Osnabrück
VW is continuing to examine various future options for the location, said the spokeswoman. She pointed out that the Osnabrück plant was established within the VW production network as a project and order-oriented location for small series and special projects. According to “NOZ”, the two military cars, which are called MV.1 and MV.2, are only test objects that were built independently at the site. There are no resolutions from the top management on this matter.
Around 2,300 people work in the former Karmann factory. Production of the Porsche models built there will end this year, and production of the VW T-Roc convertible will also end in mid-2027. There is currently no follow-up order. The arms company Rheinmetall has long been considered a possible interested party.
VW Group reaches four million electric cars mark
p> The VW Group has reached the four million mark for deliveries of electric cars across all group brands. CEO Oliver Blume spoke of a milestone in the ramp-up of e-mobility. “It took us around ten years to produce the first million pure electric vehicles,” said Blume, according to the statement. “It was only a year for the fourth.” The group wants to further accelerate this momentum.
When asked, VW did not provide details about the four millionth electric car. A spokesman said it was delivered to a customer in mid-February. A few days ago, the core brand Volkswagen reported the delivery of its two millionth electric car. It was an ID.3 from the Zwickau factory that was handed over to a customer in Dresden.
VW began series production of electric cars in 2013. The first model back then was the now discontinued E-Up small car. The group’s best-selling electric model is now the VW ID.4, of which, together with the ID.5 coupé version, a good 900,000 units have been sold so far. The smaller ID.3 has a good 600,000 units.
The best-selling electric Audi to date is the Q4 e-tron with almost 390,000 deliveries. In total, Audi accounted for around 870,000 electric cars. Porsche has 250,000, including 177,000 Taycans. To date, the group has delivered a good two-thirds of all electric cars in Europe, and one in five in China.
The VW share was temporarily trading 0.34 percent higher at 94.76 euros via XETRA on Thursday.
/fjo/DP/stk
OSNABRÜCK (dpa-AFX)
Selected leverage products on Rheinmetall
With knock-outs, speculative investors can participate disproportionately in price movements. Simply select the lever you want and we will show you suitable open-end products on Rheinmetall
The leverage must be between 2 and 20
Advertising
