- Volkswagen has opened an eight-station dismantling line at Zwickau, where vehicle assembly will continue alongside the operation.
- From 2027, the operation plans to process 4100 vehicles annually across two shifts using 100 retrained employees.
- Genuine used parts have been sold since July, with doors, bumpers, engines and gearboxes attracting demand.
Volkswagen’s Zwickau factory has added a job that runs in the opposite direction to its familiar assembly work: taking cars apart to recover genuine components.
The company announced the opening of an industrial dismantling line in October. Vehicle production will continue at the German plant alongside the new operation, which initially handles pre-series cars and is intended to process end-of-life vehicles in future.
The line gives Volkswagen another way to supply original components for repairs, with parts recovered from vehicles entering its used-parts distribution network.
Eight stations, two shifts
The dismantling process runs through eight stations. From 2027, Volkswagen plans to process 4100 vehicles a year across two shifts, deploying 100 employees who have already been retrained for the work at the German factory.
Conversion of the facility and the approval process took nine months, putting the project three months ahead of its original schedule. The opening allows the dismantling operation to ramp up into shift work.
Volkswagen sees scope for its wider circular-economy business to employ up to 1000 people in the longer term. That remains an ambition beyond the new line’s initial staffing.
A second route to genuine parts
Sales of used original parts from Zwickau started in July 2026, before the industrial line opened. Distribution channels include authorised dealers, service businesses and independent workshops.
Volkswagen identifies doors, bumpers, engines and gearboxes among the components attracting demand. Those are substantial repair items, giving the programme a practical role beyond recovering material for recycling.
The company says access to cheaper genuine used parts could help prevent some vehicles becoming economic write-offs.
