Volkswagen has officially opened a new vehicle dismantling and recycling facility at its Zwickau plant in Germany.

Scheduled to begin operations in 2027, the eight-stage dismantling line is designed to process around 4,100 pre-series and end-of-life vehicles annually.

The facility will operate in two shifts and initially create around 100 jobs. In the longer term, Volkswagen's circular economy business unit at the site could expand to as many as 1,000 positions.

The project focuses on two resource recovery streams. Reusable components, including engines, transmissions, doors and bumpers, will be inspected, refurbished and supplied to dealers and independent workshops for vehicle repairs.

🔄 The second stream targets material recovery. Plastics will be separated by polymer type and processed into secondary raw materials for manufacturing new vehicle components. This approach is gaining importance ahead of EU requirements scheduled to take effect in 2032, which will introduce minimum recycled-content targets for new cars.

According to Volkswagen, the recycled plastic recovered from one end-of-life vehicle could theoretically provide enough material to meet the recycled-content requirement for three new cars, when blended with virgin material.

The 1,200 m² dismantling facility incorporates 94 tonnes of steel. Volkswagen has also reused some existing production equipment to limit investment costs.

The company plans to develop a Europe-wide network of industrial circular economy partners, aiming to reduce material costs and dependence on imported raw materials.

Source: Volkswagen