Volkswagen Allows e-Golf Buyers To Assemble Their Own Cars

With supervision, of course.

There was a time when building models of your favorite cars was a pretty popular hobby. This writer managed to cobble a few together as a kid, but they were barely shelf-worthy. Definitely not roadworthy. Now, Volkswagen will let you experience putting an actual car together. And not just any car — your car. At least, if you've ordered an all-electric e-Golf.

The German automaker has created this unique opportunity at its famous electric-mobility-centered "Transparent Factory" in Dresden. Customers will be able to participate in their vehicle's assembly at four different stations. They'll be able to watch the "marriage," the joining together of body and soul drivetrain. With adult supervision, they'll also get to perform some of the tasks usually done by factory workers.

There is a charge of 390 euros ($447) for the experience. However, some of that is offset by a 50-euro ($57) voucher toward a meal at the facility's fancy e-VITRUM restaurant. There you can partake in some fine dining to help you recover from your car assembly endeavors.

In the end, you get an experience that may help you form a bond with both the brand and your e-Golf. As a reminder, the battery-powered VW packs a 35.8 kWh battery, which gives it an EPA-rated range of 125 miles. Its 100 kW (134 horsepower) motor helps propel the four-door hatchback from a standstill to 62 miles per hour (100 kph) in 9.6 seconds.

While the press release (below) doesn't say how long the offer is good for, we expect the model to be discontinued to make way for the 2020 Volkswagen I.D. hatchback. Although sales in the U.S were limited, mainly by supply, in 2018 with 1,354 examples sold, the model has been quite popular in Europe. The company practically doubled its production rate for 2018 and may have cranked out as many as 25,200 cars in total.

Customers can now get a much closer look at their e-Golf during production. In the Transport Factory, you can accompany your future vehicle a part of the way along the production line. Under the expert guidance of the factory’s employees, the customer is able to actively get involved at four stations, e.g. when installing the dash panel. Other places where the customer can experience the assembly of their vehicle include joining the drive train to the body (“marriage”) and installing the front radiator grille. With the new possibility of accompanying production, the Volkswagen Transparent Factory in Dresden is expanding its range of services in respect of the electric mobility experience.

Arnd Meyer-Clasen, Head of Sales: “The Transparent Factory is the showcase of e-mobility of Volkswagen. In addition to test drives, configuration and delivery of the e-Golf, another highlight we now offer is the ability to follow production. With us, not only are customers able to be there during the production of their car, but can also get involved themselves. Electric mobility that you can touch: this experience is unique in the automotive world.”

The opportunity to follow production can be booked when ordering the e-Golf from the dealer. Appointments can be made during the production time, i.e. Monday to Friday, 6:00 am to 10:00 pm. The special experience package costs EUR 390. In addition to following production, this includes inner-city transfers, a tour of the production and exhibition area, souvenir photos and a voucher of EUR 50 for a restaurant visit to the e-VITRUM.

Source: Volkswagen