VW relies on Venice: New transshipment hub threatens Bremerhaven!

VW relies on Venice: New transshipment hub threatens Bremerhaven!

What's happening at Volkswagen? There is exciting news from the halls of one of the largest car manufacturers in the world. VW plans to build a new central hub for car transport in southern Europe in Venice. This could not only strengthen the company's presence in the region, but also optimize vehicle distribution in Central and Southern Europe. Venice's favorable geographical location makes the location particularly attractive for acting as an international hub for the automotive industry. More on this reported news38.de.

The project is led by the Vezzani company. The first ship entrance at the Vezzani terminal is already planned for 2025. An important aspect of this new location is the reduction of CO₂ emissions in the supply chain, which not only brings ecological benefits but should also reduce costs. But this also has an impact on existing operations in Bremerhaven, where around 1.3 million vehicles were handled in 2024. The Bremen terminal operator BLG could suffer from the new plans, and the Emden location also has reason to be concerned.

Impact on Bremerhaven and Emden

The exact impact on German ports currently remains uncertain. But the project is already casting a shadow over the activities in Bremerhaven and Emden. The port of Emden in particular is the third largest automobile transshipment port in Europe and plays a crucial role in vehicle logistics. Around 600 ships and 160,000 wagons arrive there every year, while over 1.3 million vehicles, including around a third of them electric vehicles, are exported.

The VW factory in Emden, which was founded in 1964, remains a central part of the company's strategy. The site has converted to electric mobility since 2022 and invested over 1 billion euros in the production of electric vehicles. Enno Fehse, the plant manager since November 2024, emphasizes the continuous optimization of health, occupational safety and ergonomics for the over 8,000 employees. Emden contributes to reducing CO₂ emissions, among other things by switching truck traffic to combined modes of transport, which save around 10,000 tons of CO₂ annually volkswagen-newsroom.com communicates.

Sustainability in focus

Another important point is the effort to drastically reduce emissions in the transport sector. The intelligent combination of road and rail is intended to use the strengths of both types of transport in order to decouple transport performance from emissions. Road transport causes over 50% of CO₂ emissions, while sea transport plays a central role in Volkswagen's logistics. Promoting battery-electric trucks is an important step towards environmentally friendly logistics, from which the new transshipment point in Venice could also benefit. The website provides further information volkswagen-group.com.

The developments at VW show that the company is not only interested in the economic aspects, but also wants to place a strong focus on sustainability. If the new transshipment point in Venice is actually realized, it could have far-reaching consequences for the existing infrastructure and its business figures. Stay tuned – there’s a lot to watch at Volkswagen!