Hanover – The halls are getting on in years and are partly under monument protection. With its internal production, the plant in Stöcken is nevertheless the most modern VW commercial vehicle in the world.

And that’s where the Bulli of the future is now being built!

Series production of the new T7 Multivan has now started! Initially, 50 vehicles roll off the production line every day, and soon there will be 800. Much of the work is now done by large industrial robots.

In the body shop, 93 percent of production is automated. While 270 workers are still working on the construction of the previous model T6.1 (2024 from), there are only 42 on the T7. They monitor the machines via their smartwatch arm.

“It is the transformation from demanding manual work to creative brainwork,” describes Production Director Josef Baumert. In large parts of the plant, the material is transported by self-driving tugs.

The result: digitization makes many jobs superfluous.

Employees are further qualified. “And only when employees retire will jobs be digitized and replaced by robots,” says Baumert. 5000 jobs will disappear by 2029 – socially acceptable. Until then, the rest of the workforce is guaranteed employment.

Baumert knows: “It is emotionally difficult for colleagues to see that their work has been replaced by machines 200 meters further.” One advantage is the reduction in costs: a machine hour costs EUR 5.50, a “human hour” costs EUR 76.

In the next few weeks, the 10 millionth Bulli will roll off the production line in Stöcken. The electric ID.BUZZ will also be built there from 2022.