Photo: Volkswagen plant in Germany may begin producing military armored vehicles (volkswagen-newsroom.com) Author: Konstantin Shirokun
Volkswagen wants to turn one of Germany's largest car factories into a defense enterprise. The Osnabrück plant could reportedly begin producing armored cabins for military trucks.
This was reported by RBC-Ukraine with reference to Automobilwoche.
We are talking about an enterprise located in the city of Osnabrück. According to the publication, the plant, which currently produces Volkswagen T-Roc Convertible convertibles, may begin producing armored cabins for military vehicles. The enterprise is currently unprofitable and may be sold to a new owner, which, according to rumors, will be the defense company Rheinmetall.
All that is known so far is that Rheinmetall is developing plans to produce bulletproof cabins for military trucks at a plant that Volkswagen is planning to abandon as part of its cost-cutting strategy. The defense concern's potential partner in the project is said to be MAN, a leading truck manufacturer.
Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume has previously said he is open to considering the possibility of starting production of military vehicles at the Osnabrück plant. But this could be thwarted by the IG Metall union, which opposes the production of military vehicles at the car plant.
Meanwhile, the only production convertible in the current model line, the open version of the T-Roc crossover, is in demand in European countries. By the end of 2024, the T-Roc Convertible had sold 10.7 thousand units. With this result, it became the second most popular convertible on the European market, second only to the MINI Cooper.
Read urgent and important news about Russia's war against Ukraine on the RBC-Ukraine channel in Telegram.