Volkswagen Autoeuropa
IndustryAutomotive industry
FoundedDecember 3, 1991
FounderVolkswagen Group
ProductsVolkswagen T-Roc
Stamped parts
Number of employees
5282 (2020)
ParentVolkswagen Group
Websitehttps://www.volkswagenautoeuropa.pt/

Volkswagen Autoeuropa Lda. is an automotive assembly plant, located in the city of Palmela, near Lisbon, Portugal. Formed in 1991, it began operations in 1995 fully owned by Volkswagen. It is the largest foreign industrial investment in Portugal.[1]

History

Cars produced by Autoeuropa at the Setúbal port, 2019

After the signature of a joint venture agreement between Volkswagen Group and Ford in July 1991,[2] the 2 million m2 plant was built in four years, including a surrounding industrial park on which key suppliers are located. The plant and surrounding industrial park cost in total 1.970 M€.

Opened as a 50/50 joint venture, its initial purpose was to assemble a communal-designed MPV model sold under three marques: Volkswagen Sharan, SEAT Alhambra, and Ford Galaxy. Producing these vehicles, Volkswagen Autoeuropa almost reached its production limit of 172,500 units per year.

However, when Ford left the joint venture and the model life-cycle approached its end, Volkswagen took ownership of the plant and production declined considerably. Under Volkswagen's internal bidding system, the plant had to compete for new models with other Volkswagen plants, while threatening to close the plant and to give concessions to the workers and the State.

Eventually, AutoEuropa won the production rights of the new convertible/coupé-only Volkswagen Eos from late 2005, producing just 79,896 vehicles of the original models plus the Eos. In 2008 the plant started production of the third generation Volkswagen Scirocco, and presently employs 3,000 people on site, 2,350 supplier jobs on the industrial park, and an additional 3,750 supplier jobs within Portugal.

As the existing models come to the end of their life cycles, the plant will need to compete for new models from 2010 onwards. It was proposed that in 2009 to prepare the production line for the replacement,[3] although the economic crisis will delay that model.

Internal sources said Volkswagen Autoeuropa was to take up production of the Volkswagen Polo by November 2010 at the latest, as a 2011 showroom model, a sub-compact sold everywhere but the US and Canada. The factory management were also bidding for production of the new Volkswagen BlueSport roadster. None of these plans came to fruition.

On July 1, 2013, car number 2,000,000 rolled off the assembly line, a Volkswagen Sharan 2.0 TDI Highline.[4]

In December 2016, the plant won the production rights for the new compact crossover, Volkswagen T-Roc.[5]

In March 2020, SEAT Alhambra is discontinued.[6][7]

Production

Year 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
Production 41,201 119,042 131,400 138,890 137,267 126,191 136,758 130,007 109,647 95,660
Year 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Production 79,896 81,835 93,609 94,100 86,008 101,284 133,100 112,550 91,200 102,240
Year 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 - - - -
Production 102,158 85,126 110,256 287,024 254,600 192,000 - - - -

[8]

Production by model

Year Total Volkswagen Eos Volkswagen Scirocco Volkswagen Sharan/SEAT Alhambra
2007 93,609 55,560 - 38,049
2008 94,100 43,534 20,472 29,897
Year Total Volkswagen Eos Volkswagen Scirocco Volkswagen Sharan SEAT Alhambra Volkswagen T-Roc
2012 112,550 11,138 33,620 48,399 19,393 -
2013 91,200 7,651 23,400 40,159 19,990 -
2014 102,240 6,557 23,573 49,498 22,612 -
2015 102,158 4,559 16,251 53,423 27,925 -
2016 85,126 - 11,963 41,949 31,214 -
2017 110,256 - 8,199 45,695 33,638 22,724
2018 287,024 - - 30,459 19,588 236,977
2019 254,600 - - 25,681 23,015 205,904
2020 192,000 - - - - 192,000

[9] [10] [11] [12] [13][14][15][16]

Current production

Former production

References

  1. ↑ "Volkswagen Autoeuropa Lda". Volkswagen Newsroom. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  2. ↑ "VW AutoEuropa History of Volkswagen Autoeuropa". volkswagenautoeuropa.pt. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  3. ↑ "VW Autoeuropa garante produção nos próximos 5 anos - Expresso.pt". Archived from the original on 2009-01-31. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
  4. ↑ "Volkswagen Autoeuropa atinge 2 milhões de unidades" (PDF) (in Portuguese). volkswagenautoeuropa.pt. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  5. ↑ "Volkswagen Autoeuropa celebra 25 Anos" (PDF) (in Portuguese). volkswagenautoeuropa.pt. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  6. ↑ "Seat Alhambra discontinued".
  7. ↑ "Seat MPV discontinued". 27 March 2020.
  8. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-08-29. Retrieved 2017-08-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. ↑ "VW Autoeuropa garante produção nos próximos 5 anos - Expresso.pt". Archived from the original on 2009-01-31. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
  10. ↑ "Oje - o Jornal Economico - Negócios - Autoeuropa produz mais carros em 2008 face a 2007". Archived from the original on 2011-10-07. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
  11. ↑ "Jornal de Negócios Online". Archived from the original on 2009-06-20. Retrieved 2018-07-28.
  12. ↑ "Oje - o Jornal Economico - Negócios - Autoeuropa reduz produção no primeiro trimestre de 2009". Archived from the original on 2011-10-07. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
  13. ↑ http://economia.publico.clix.pt/noticia.aspx?id=1357702%5B%5D
  14. ↑ "Volkswagen Konzern - AR 2016 - Volkswagen Passenger Cars". annualreport2016.volkswagenag.com. Retrieved 2017-08-29.
  15. ↑ "Volkswagen Konzern - AR 2014 - Volkswagen Passenger Cars". annualreport2014.volkswagenag.com. Retrieved 2017-08-29.
  16. ↑ "Annual Reports". Retrieved 2018-03-16.
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