German carmaker Volkswagen Group is focusing on achieving full production capacity at its converted Zwickau plant, running six BEV production lines for three brands, Kallanish reports.

The €1.2 billion ($1.33 billion) conversion of Zwickau, from internal combustion engine vehicle production to electric vehicles, was completed last week in just 26 months. The milestone was marked with the start of production of the ID.5 and ID.5 GTX battery electric vehicles.

“Our focus now – depending on how the semiconductor situation pans out – will be on achieving full capacity. This year we aim to exceed the 180,000 vehicles Volkswagen Saxony built in 2021,” says Stefan Loth, chairman of the board of Volkswagen Saxony, without elaborating further.

Gläserne Manufaktur Dresden was Volkswagen’s first plant in Saxony to be converted to EV production.

Zwickau has capacity to produce 330,000 BEVs per year, divided in six models from the Volkswagen, Audi and CUPRA brands. Manufacturing is based on the modular electric drive matrix MEB, which the Volkswagen brand plans to build from 1.2 million BEVs this year in sites in Europe, the US and China.

“Volkswagen will continue to increase the pace of e-mobility in 2022 with its Accelerate strategy and the expansion of the model portfolio,” says Christian Vollmer, in charge of production at Volkswagen. “The knowledge and experience gained will help us to continue to electrify our production network quickly and efficiently.”

The plants in Emden (Germany), Hanover (Germany) and Chattanooga (US) will be added to the EV production network this year.