Volkswagen is converting its plant in Zwickau/Mosel: It will be the group’s first plant to exclusively manufacture electric vehicles in large numbers. Other OEMs produce models with combustion engine and electric drive on one line. What strategies are behind it?

This article series are dedicated to the changes and developments in the aluminum high pressure die casting industry: "Internationalization", "Product Portfolio", "Technologies" and "Employees".

The trend towards creating smart factories is on the rise. Especially the automotive sector invests large sums in smart factories.

Will assembly lines soon be a thing of the past in the automotive industry? At least according to Audi and its vision of an intelligent factory of the future, it is likely to play only a minor role.

Electric cars or vehicles with other alternative drives are still more of a niche product. However, automobile manufacturers are already pushing ahead with these new drives — and are thus placing new demands on lightweight design and production.

Audi is going to implement a successful in-house additive production. In the medium term, this process could lead not only to the construction of prototypes but also to the provision of spare parts in line with demand - at the expense of die casting?

Dr. Ulrich Widmann, Head of Functional Design at Audi, looks beyond the latest model: "Bionics, functional integration and hybrid structures are becoming increasingly important in the lightweight construction of the future.”