2,500,000 cars from the Volkswagen Poznań factory

Poznań, 27 July 2016 - Today, the two and a half millionth car in the history of the Company rolled off the assembly line of Volkswagen Poznań. This number of cars has been produced in Poznań since 1993. The jubilee is an opportunity for memories, summaries and presentation of plans for the Poznań Plants. The owner of the unique 2.5 millionth Volkswagen Caddy is Mr. Dominik Pochodyła, an entrepreneur who runs an orchard and a pressing plant on a daily basis.

From 500 cars a year to 720 a day

“2,500,000 cars are a beautiful anniversary for us. I am proud of our employees and how much our company has developed over the last twenty years. We are the largest employer in Greater Poland, a strong production center for the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles brand with an average annual production of 170-175 thousand cars. Our position will strengthen with the launch of the new Volkswagen Crafter plant in Białężyce near Września, which is scheduled for the second half of this year ”. - says Dietmar Mnich, Director of the Volkswagen Plant in Antoninek in Poznań.

Poznań did not immediately become the production center for Transporter and Caddy. In 1994, the assembly of Skoda Felicia cars was started in the factory - this year, less than 800 units of this model were manufactured here. In the following years, various models of brands were also assembled in Poznań: SEAT (Cordoba), Audi (A6) and Volkswagen (including Bora, Polo, Passat). In 1995, as the first automotive company in Poland, the factory obtained the DIN ISO 9002 certificate, which confirms the company's special care for the environment. Just a year later, Volkswagen Poznań established a foundry. To this day, it produces aluminum components, which are then installed in many cars of various brands from the Volkswagen concern.
The years 2002 and 2003 were a breakthrough in the company's history. Then the last Skoda Fabia rolled off the assembly lines of the Poznań factory, and the factory was prepared for the production of two base models - Volkswagen Caddy and Volkswagen Transporter. Significant expansion of the factory involving, inter alia, on the construction of a modern paint shop and the creation of a special body shop, it meant not only an increase in employment, but also in the total production capacity from about 40,000 to about 170,000 cars per year. As a result, on December 11, 2007, the factory celebrated the production of the millionth car, the Caddy Maxi Furgon.
In 2015, 170,810 vehicles were produced at Volkswagen Poznań: 20,447 Volkswagen Transporter models and 150,363 Volkswagen Caddy cars. These models are sent from Poznań to customers all over the world. Continuously since 2003, Volkswagen Poznań is the only factory in the world that produces the Volkswagen Caddy light commercial vehicle. Currently, the production capacity of the factory allows for the production of 720 cars a day.

The 2.5 millionth Volkswagen Caddy

The 2.5 millionth car produced at the Volkswagen Poznań factory is a black Volkswagen Caddy in the Trendline version with a 1.4 TSI engine, additionally equipped with air conditioning, parking sensors, window tinting in the passenger and cargo compartment, heated seats and a Bluetooth telephone system. The owner of the jubilee model is Mr. Dominik Pochodyła from Milicz.
“Volkswagen has been accompanying our family for years. When I was picking up the keys to the new Caddy, I remembered many stories related to this brand and our life. I remember many years ago when I was selling currants from a car in a car market and my little son was sleeping on the back seat. I remember long trips abroad, especially the trip to Norway, which was quite a challenge for the car. I must say that, both at work and on vacation, Volkswagen did not let me down, we always went home together on wheels. I believe that the new Caddy will work both in the company and in everyday life, I also intend to go to church with it, because it is both practical and elegant. In a few days he will have a long journey, we are going to Ukraine to help one of the priests in Volhynia. " - said Mr. Dominik Pochodyła, the owner of the new Caddy.
The keys to the jubilee car were handed over to the owner during the official press conference, which took place today at the Volkswagen Poznań factory. The symbolic key was handed over by Dietmar Mnich - Director of the Volkswagen Poznań Plant in Antoninek and Piotr Łakomy - Director of the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Brand.
“I am glad that more and more Polish entrepreneurs decide to buy Volkswagen commercial vehicles. Every day we try to meet the expectations of our customers, offering them cars of excellent quality, a tailored financial offer and service at the highest level. I am especially pleased that right now, when the campaign with a special offer for farms is underway, the owner of the 2.5 millionth Volkswagen Caddy will soon be Mr. Dominik Pochodyła, who runs an orchard farm and a pressing plant on a daily basis. I am glad that our cars support Polish entrepreneurs in their work ”. - said Piotr Łakomy, Director of the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Brand, during the handover of the keys.

Jubilee competition

On the occasion of the jubilee, Volkswagen Poznań announces the " Find X in your VIN " competition, addressed to owners of cars manufactured in Poznań in the years 2003 - 2016. "VIN is a unique individual number that each car has. It specifies, among other things, its manufacturer, place and year of production. Cars produced in Poznań in 2003-2016, the seventh from the end in the VIN number, have the "X" sign, hence the idea for the name of the competition. - explains Monika Hajbowicz, Head of the Communication Department at Volkswagen Poznań. The competition task is to send photos of the car that was produced in Poznań in the years 2003-2016 and to describe the history related to its use. Volkswagen Poznań will award 4 winners who will be selected by August 20 this year. Details and rules of the competition are available on the website www.volkswagen-poznan.pl .

Volkswagen press material