In November 2023, according to a Reuters report, Volkswagen CEO Thomas Sch Fer revealed that the brand will reduce costs to improve competitiveness, and the cost reduction includes saving 10 billion euros. Recently, there has been related news, according to foreign media reports, Volkswagen's internal memo information revealed that the brand's labor cost is expected to be reduced by about 1/5, in addition, the pace of product updates will also be accelerated to enhance the overall market competitiveness.
The reason for the series of open source and cost reduction strategies is mainly due to the fact that Volkswagen CEO Thomas Sch Fer pointed out that the brand's low competitiveness in the market (no longer competitive) is not only an indication of the electric vehicle market, after all, with the launch of new brands in the electric energy market, traditional car manufacturers are facing transformation and catch-up settings, which can be described as a new start;More importantly, the competitiveness of Volkswagen's fuel vehicles has also continued to decline under the influence of Korean and American groups.
Previously, Volkswagen reported that the production capacity of electric vehicle production lines in the European market was reduced, although the current sales performance of electric vehicles still maintained a certain strength, but mainly digested previous orders, which means that the follow-up sales force slowed down, and adjusting production capacity is naturally a due strategyIn addition, Volkswagen is expected to carry out a 10 billion euro throttling plan, mainly in response to the reduction of manpower, providing preferential retirement plans and other ways to reduce labor costs.
More importantly for consumers, Volkswagen will also reduce the product redesign cycle, which may have been 50 months or 4 years, including minor facelifts or major facelifts, to 3 years, which is actually more in line with the pace of electric vehicles, and Volkswagen expects to save 10 billion euros to focus on electric vehicle development.