35 years of VW Polo: Zwickau plant looks back on moving history

35 years of VW Polo: Zwickau plant looks back on moving history

Zwickau, Deutschland - July 4, 2025 is a very special day for the VW plant in Zwickau, because the 35th anniversary of polo production is celebrated. 35 years ago, the first polo rolled off the assembly line, a steep rear with a 1.3-liter engine and 55 hp in stylish alpine white-today a real museum piece. In this anniversary year, the employees look back at the beginnings in the work in the Moselle district and also remember the eventful history that the Zwickau work has shaped. In addition to the polo, Trabant models were also produced here, and many of the current workforce have witnessed this development up close. The mood is mixed, because even if there are reviews of success, current challenges are knocking on the factory doors.

The beginnings of production in the Zwickau plant are characterized by a certain pioneering spirit. Jörn Kaiser and Udo Friedrich, both of them at the VEB Sachsenring as a mechanical engineer and body builder decades ago, still remember the times when they assembled in Zwickau and Meerane Trabants. "We absolutely wanted to be there at the new beginning of Zwickau," says Jörn, who pursues the change from the classic internal combustion engines to e-cars with great curiosity.

Volkswagen: Challenges and highlights

The Volkswagen plant in Zwickau has experienced many ups and downs since its foundation. The first VW Polo was produced on May 21, 1990 in the Moselle plant, part of a joint venture between VW and the Vehicle Construction Industry Association (IFA). The range has changed a lot in recent years; Only fully electric vehicles have been manufactured here since 2020, including ID.3, ID.4, ID.5 and the Audi Q4 E-Tron and Sportback e-tron. Jörn and Udo have witnessed the entire range of the models and are optimistic about the future of electromobility.

Especially in the current phase, where the switch to e-mobility is not only technologically but also emotionally a challenge, the employees feel the pressure. Udo sums it up: "The mood among some colleagues is not good." There are orders, but the uncertainty about future development remains, and the workforce is torn between love for the traditional mechanical vehicles and the new electrical models.

A look into the future and the role of the automotive industry

The automotive industry is at a turning point, and this affects not only the production of vehicles, but also the social perception of cars. The car has been a symbol of individual freedom for 125 years, but is increasingly being viewed critically - especially in urban regions in which it is considered superfluous. This change is reinforced by striving for climate goals and the turnaround. The automotive industry plays a central role in the German economy, whether in production or in export, but the challenges do not fail.

The Zwickau work, with its long history and constant change, shows how closely the automotive industry is linked to politics and society. Whether through the influence of the great industries or the needs of consumers, the development of the automotive in Germany is a reflection of historical events and new social norms.

If you film the employees in Zwickau, you can see hope and skepticism in their faces. They are convinced that the location has a future, even if many have to rethink the generation change and the increasing demands of e-mobility. "We hung our heart on the layers," says one of them - a sign of the binding power of automotive production in Zwickau, which wants to continue despite all the imponderables.