We are working actively and vigorously to make mobility cleaner, more efficient and safer so as to hand over a world that is as intact as possible to future generations. At the same time, we secure the future viability of our locations and employees’ jobs.
The challenges for society and the environment are growing worldwide. In the spirit of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles’ long tradition of always thinking a step ahead as regards transport, the brand is already working on customer-centric solutions to tomorrow’s challenges and on sustainable mobility for its customers from the handicraft and logistics sectors in our cities and for mobile recreational activities.
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is an independent brand in the Volkswagen Group and is responsible for the development, construction and sale of lightweight commercial vehicles. They include the series Transporter, Caddy, Crafter and Amarok, which are made in Hanover (D), Poznań (PL), Września (PL) and Pacheco (ARG). As a leading manufacturer of lightweight commercial vehicles, the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles brand is fundamentally and sustainably reshaping the transportation sector for people, goods and services. Our vehicles transport construction workers, families or adventure seekers, bread rolls, parcels or surfboards. Every day, all over the world, they help countless people do a good job, act as mobile workshops, and take emergency doctors and police officers to where they are needed.
The most important lever for sustainable mobility and transportation services is in cities. The challenges, as well as the demand for new solutions, are greatest there. We want to help make urban life better. So that can be achieved, we must focus on people and their needs, not on a specific technology. Our focus is to lastingly improve the booming transportation sector for goods and services and electrify it where possible.
VW Commercial Vehicles is also responsible for developing autonomous driving, Mobility as a Service (MaaS) and Transport as a Service (TaaS) at the Volkswagen Group. As part of that, we will develop and build appropriate special purpose vehicles, such as robotaxis and vans, in the future. As a result, we keep the whole of society moving and meet all its requirements for clean, smart and sustainable mobility. Since November 2021 the portfolio has been enhanced by the new Multivan, which is also available as an e-hybrid (PHEV variant). The all-electric ID. BUZZ and ID.BUZZ Cargo will be launched in 2022. The Bulli for the electric age stands for the transformation of VW Commercial Vehicles and the brand’s future viability.
VW Commercial Vehicles shipped around 360,000 light commercial vehicles to customers in 2021, against the backdrop of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic (forecast volume in 2021, as of December 2021). VW Commercial Vehicles employs almost 24,000 people worldwide: just over 14,500 in Germany and around 8,900 at its locations in Poland (as of December 2021).
Sustainability is implemented and continuously enhanced at the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles brand by a board committee responsible for the issue and a dedicated steering committee. The focus is on climate and environmental protection, urbanization, resource efficiency, and healthcare. Guidelines throughout the value chain create the framework for sustainable commercial decisions so as to ensure maximum effectiveness for our stakeholders and shareholders.
The three highlight projects 2021
We are committed to protecting the climate and actively supporting social projects at our locations – we shoulder responsibility and aim to motivate others to think and act in terms of sustainability.
Bags from old advertising tarpaulin
More than 100 shoulder bags, beach bags and rucksacks were sewn from the XXL advertising tarpaulin with the VW Commercial Vehicles logo on the paint shop stack at the Hanover Stöcken plant in the sheltered workshop of the Niels Stensen House run by Caritas Hanover. The sewing room staff put a lot of thought into designing the bags, which then went on sale in the “Volkswagen Shop and more” in Hanover, with the proceeds going to the Niels Stensen House. The project to upcycle the old tarpaulin was jointly initiated by Diversity Management and Factory and Infrastructure Planning when the more than 200 m² advertising tarpaulin on the stack, the highest point in Hanover, was replaced last year. It is a project combining all three pillars of sustainability: Ecological, economic and social aspects are intertwined in the bag project. The social aspect – production of the bags by the social workshops of Caritas in Hanover – was especially important.
The first VW Commercial Vehicles honey – made at the parent plant in Hanover
Three strong colonies numbering a total of 180,000 bees gathered honey on the meadow in front of the VW Commercial Vehicles Customer Center this year. The bees were settled there for the first time in 2020. They make an important contribution to protecting and preserving the biodiversity of flora and fauna in the city and region. What makes the project so special? It is a 100% Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles enterprise: The bees are provided by a VW Commercial Vehicles employee and hobby apiarist who takes care of their well-being there all year round. The beehives were creatively designed by VW Commercial Vehicles trainees and welcome our customers when they leave the Customer Center. And the children from the VW Commercial Vehicles company kindergarten designed the logo for the honey jars. 250 kg of VW Commercial Vehicles honey have been produced since the project’s inception – equal to one thousand 250 g jars.
Carbon Forest – innovative reforestation project of Volkswagen Poznań
In the “Carbon Forest” project, employees of Volkswagen Poznań supported local forestry experts as part of sustainable forest management aimed at preserving and increasing carbon sequestration in forest ecosystems. The project was initiated by Volkswagen Poznań, the Regional and General Directorate of State Forests, and the Forest Research Institute. Planting of new species of deciduous trees, shrubs and fast-growing plant species, such as Douglas firs, ensures that the forest will be able to store more carbon dioxide in the future. The support of the forest ecosystem by VWP employees once again demonstrates that Volkswagen Poznań is aware of its responsibility and gives energetic support to efforts to improve the quality of air lastingly.
Stakeholder Dialog
In dialog with the neighborhood and society
Regular exchange between company representatives, residents and stakeholders, such as schools, environmental associations and public authorities, has been a firm part of the company’s engagement at the Hanover site for more than three decades.
When the decision was taken to expand the Poznań and Września sites in Poland, the concept of open dialog was also extended to include them and the format was tailored to local requirements. Apart from residents, representatives from the council, public authorities and the churches take part in events at Poznań.
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles invites residents from the neighborhood and other stakeholders to events held at least twice a year in order to discuss concerns, ideas, wishes and suggestions, address them through direct dialog and dispel potential conflicts before they arise. This initiative has created a relationship of trust at all brand locations to the parties’ mutual benefit.
In view of the continuing threat from Covid-19, the Poznań and Września locations decided to hold an online neighborhood meeting in 2021.
Awards in 2021
Volkswagen Poznań wins “Made in Poland” award
July 2021: The Volkswagen plant in Poznań has captured an accolade for the important influence it has in designing and developing dual training courses. Over the past 16 years, Volkswagen Poznań has developed its vocational training in close cooperation with the School Complex No. 1 in Swarzędz and the Technical School Complex in Września, where young people can gain qualifications as mechatronic technicians, car electricians, foundry machine and plant operators, and automation specialists. The training lasts three years, after which the students take a Polish vocational examination in accordance with the procedures defined by the Central Examination Board. They can also sit an additional exam before the German-Polish Chamber of Industry and Commerce and thus acquire eligibility to pursue their vocation in many European Union countries.