VW halts new electric Golf development at Wolfsburg - TimesLIVE

Volkswagen is suspending development work on the upcoming all-electric Golf in Wolfsburg, a top executive told workers in an internal memo seen by Reuters on Friday, telling them the carmaker’s main plant was behind on cost targets.

“I know what the Golf means for Volkswagen and for Wolfsburg. That’s why this decision was really not an easy one for us,” said Thomas Schäfer, CEO of the German auto group’s volume brands.

“We simply can’t afford this work right now.”

Management’s decision was a sign of belt-tightening reaching the embattled group’s headquarters, with Schäfer warning that the plant had fallen behind and flagging a €300m (about R5.56bn) cost deficit.

Factories in Emden and Zwickau were making progress, according to the memo. Those two sites are among four in Germany threatened with closure under a ramped-up restructuring to face the threat of Chinese competition and falling demand in key markets. Wolfsburg is not one of the four.