Photo: Volkswagen
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has announced important changes to their lineup which will take effect two years from now. According to a statement from the German company, production of the next generation Crafter van will be switched to a new factory in Wrzesnia, Poland.
Moving production there will reportedly create 2,300 new jobs starting with the fourth quarter of 2016, when Crafters will start rolling off the production line. Wrzesnia is a small town in the center of the county with a population of just 29,000 people, meaning VW would be one of the biggest employers.
The town sits just 50 kilometers from Poznan, where the smaller Caddy is made, and will be the second site for commercial vehicle assembly.
Dr. Eckhard Scholz, Speaker of the Management Board of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, commented: “Our experience with the production of the Caddy in Poland has been excellent. And the region around Wrzesnia offers ideal economic, infrastructure and labor market policy conditions for us.”
“With the decision to produce the Crafter in Poland, we have laid the foundations for the strategic reorientation of our light commercial vehicles,” said Dr. Leif Östling, Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft responsible for commercial vehicles. He continued: “The Crafter is outstandingly well-suited for all the growth markets of the world and will take Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles a stage forward on its way to becoming a globally active manufacturer.”
Although there's no official mention of this, it's becoming quite obvious that the new Crafter has severed its ties with Mercedes. The current generation model has been built since 2006 by Mercedes at their Dusseldorf factory in a variety of body styles shared with the Sprinter, including panel, minibus, double cab and chassis cab.
The 2016 Crafter will likely adopt the latest diesel engines from the Amarok and will be built using the expertise acquired when VW Group bought MAN. The split between the two companies was clarified last year by Volker Mornhinweg, Head of Mercedes-Benz Vans, who made the following statement: “Both partners had a benefit from the long lasting cooperation. With the next Sprinter, which is currently in development, we will ultimately be dependent on the production capacities that we have currently made available to Volkswagen. That’s why our employees will only produce our own brands in the future.”
The town sits just 50 kilometers from Poznan, where the smaller Caddy is made, and will be the second site for commercial vehicle assembly.
Dr. Eckhard Scholz, Speaker of the Management Board of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, commented: “Our experience with the production of the Caddy in Poland has been excellent. And the region around Wrzesnia offers ideal economic, infrastructure and labor market policy conditions for us.”
“With the decision to produce the Crafter in Poland, we have laid the foundations for the strategic reorientation of our light commercial vehicles,” said Dr. Leif Östling, Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft responsible for commercial vehicles. He continued: “The Crafter is outstandingly well-suited for all the growth markets of the world and will take Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles a stage forward on its way to becoming a globally active manufacturer.”
Although there's no official mention of this, it's becoming quite obvious that the new Crafter has severed its ties with Mercedes. The current generation model has been built since 2006 by Mercedes at their Dusseldorf factory in a variety of body styles shared with the Sprinter, including panel, minibus, double cab and chassis cab.
The 2016 Crafter will likely adopt the latest diesel engines from the Amarok and will be built using the expertise acquired when VW Group bought MAN. The split between the two companies was clarified last year by Volker Mornhinweg, Head of Mercedes-Benz Vans, who made the following statement: “Both partners had a benefit from the long lasting cooperation. With the next Sprinter, which is currently in development, we will ultimately be dependent on the production capacities that we have currently made available to Volkswagen. That’s why our employees will only produce our own brands in the future.”
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