“Historic moment in life of plant” – managing director
While Portugal’s government was ‘falling’ agonisingly through yesterday afternoon, some really positive news was breaking in Palmela: the Volkswagen Autoeuropa car plant has been chosen by its German owners to produce ‘the most accessible electric car yet’ for the European market.
The ID.EVERY1 will have an estimated price tag of €20,000 (roughly half what an electric Tesla, or even Chinese electric vehicle sold in Europe, costs). It is due to start rolling off production lines in 2027 – and everyone involved believes it represents “a historic moment in the life of the plant”.
National tabloid Correio da Manhã headlines the news as the saving of Autoeuropa.
In a press release yesterday, Thomas Hegel Gunther, managing director of Volkwagen Autoeuropa in Palmela, said “it is with great enthusiasm that we have taken on production of the ID.Every1, a model that will make electric mobility more accessible and sustainable in Europe.
The new vehicle is part of a wider ‘ambitious plan to introduce nine new models by 2027, including four electric vehicles’.
For Palmela’s Workers Commission, the ID.1 (as it is called for short) “allows us to look to a future in which confidence and stability are a closer reality, not just for the present of the factory but for future generations”.
Autoeuropa currently employs around 5,000 people.
Thomas Hegal Gunther referred to the support of the (outgoing) government, which he said had “offered the best conditions to attract this new project” to Portugal. Even the prime minister, in the jaws of parliamentary defeat, managed to post an upbeat message on ‘X’ last night: “Autoeuropa will take over production of Volkswagen’s new electric vehicle. Portugal thus remains one of the key centres. Many jobs and a leveraged sector. I’m proud of the work we’ve been doing with and for the Portuguese”.
ID.1 will be powered by a new generation electric motor with 70 kW (95 hp). It will be able to carry four people, have a boot capacity of 305 litres, and be the first model in the entire VW group to integrate “an innovative new software architecture” which means that it will be able to be equipped with new features throughout its entire life cycle”, said yesterday’s press release. ND
