VW Zwickau starts industrial disassembly of old cars

Volkswagen has put the group's first industrial disassembly line into operation at its Zwickau vehicle plant in Germany. In addition to ongoing car production, the site will now take vehicles apart to recover genuine OEM parts and raw materials.

Key Facts:

• Starting in 2027, the eight-station line will disassemble 4,100 vehicles per year in two-shift operation; 100 employees have been retrained.
• Capacity is planned to scale to 15,000 vehicles annually by 2030.
• Genuine used OEM parts have been distributed via dealers, repair shops, and parts retailers since July.

The line's equipment was installed in nine months, three months ahead of schedule. The work included recoating 12,900 square feet (1,200 square meters) of floor space, installing 94 metric tons (103 US tons) of steel, and laying 330 feet (100 meters) of high-current lines for logistics. Equipment from regular car manufacturing was reused as well. Volkswagen plans a European circular-economy partner network over the long term.

VW Circular Economy as a Business Model

EU recyclate quotas for plastics and other materials, effective from 2032, will require scalable industrial processes. The plastic recovered from a single end-of-life vehicle is expected to supply material for three new cars. Volkswagen is investing up to €90 million (about $101 million), with Saxony adding up to €10.7 million (about $12 million) in funding. Data platforms and AI applications will track and control material flows. The new division is slated to employ up to 1,000 people.