VW cuts ID4, ID7 output at German plant

Volkswagen is reducing output of electric cars at its Emden plant in northern Germany due to flagging sales.

Production of the ID4 full-electric SUV and the brand's new ID7 all-electric sedan will be cut over the next two weeks, the Nordwest-Zeitung newspaper reported, citing the factory's works council.

The plant's three-week summer vacation will be extended by one week for a week for employees working on electric cars and about 300 of the 1,500 temporary workers currently employed in Emden will be laid off from August.

Demand for electric cars built in Emden is nearly 30 percent below the originally planned production figures, the head of the factory's works council, Manfred Wulff, told the Nordwest-Zeitung.

Production of Passat combustion engine models will continue unchanged, the works council said.

A VW spokesperson told the paper: "We are confident that capacity utilization at the plant will increase again with the market launch of the ID7 at the end of the year."

Incremental EV demand is falling after subsidies were stopped or reduced in countries such as Germany, Sweden and France, Evercore said.

The company forecasts EVs will have flat or modest growth of up to 5 percent in the EU this year.