Autoeuropa is in the midst of transformation while the Volkswagen group goes through a deep crisis. The Palmela factory has started production of the new 100% electric hybrid T-Roc and is preparing to manufacture the ID.1, a low-cost electric city car with an expected price of 20,000 euros, securing this project by defeating factories in Eastern Europe. The Portuguese unit, led by Anabel Andión Lomero, the first woman to take over the factory's management, is investing 600 million euros in modernising its production lines and has created a new paint workshop with an electric oven that will replace the current natural gas one.
In contrast, the German group announced the layoff of another 50,000 workers by 2030, totalling 100,000, while its operating margin dropped from 8% in 2022 to 4% in the first half of this year. German factories face an uncertain future, with models produced in Emden, Hanover, Zwickau and Neckarsulm having an end-of-production date set for the next decade. The productivity of German plants, politically protected by pressure from Lower Saxony, has been lower than that of the group's foreign factories.
Autoeuropa produced more than 240,000 units in 2025, its second-best year ever, with the T-Roc generating more than 20 billion euros in sales since 2018. The Portuguese factory represents 4.5% of national exports and more than 1% of GDP, employing more than 4,800 workers, with 99% of its production destined for export, mainly to Germany, Italy, France and Spain. The new T-Roc Hybrid is already available for pre-order in Germany with prices starting at 45,700 euros.
