Transparent factory welcomes guests again

In future, VW's Transparent Factory in Dresden wants to introduce visitors to the secrets of car manufacturing. While guests were previously able to watch cars such as the Phaeton or, most recently, the ID.3 being manufactured during guided tours of the impressive building, in future the focus will be on automotive engineering itself. "You used to see how a vehicle was made here. From now on, you can understand vehicle construction here," explained site manager Martin Goede. From this Thursday (January 29), the Manufaktur will be open to the public again.

Gläserne Manufaktur to become an innovation campus

After the series production of cars, an innovation campus for central fields of technology is now to be created in the glass building on the edge of Dresden's Großer Garten. The factory will become a laboratory for robotics, artificial intelligence, microelectronics and chip design. Germany's largest car manufacturer, the Free State of Saxony and the Technical University (TU) of Dresden are entering into a strategic partnership for this purpose.

Enjoying an exchange with VW employees

The company hopes to welcome up to 100,000 guests a year on guided tours, as it once did. Employees from the former production facility will be on hand to answer questions. "There will be more proximity and exchange, more focus and more surprises," emphasized Goede. In the future, guided tours will be offered by topic. The aim is to offer something for Phaeton fans as well as architecture enthusiasts. At various stations, the employees are to show what steps, techniques and tools are required in car manufacturing.

The Gläserne Manufaktur was once considered a prestige project for VW and was inaugurated in 2001 as a production facility for the VW top-of-the-range Phaeton model. Its production was discontinued in 2016 and the ID.3 was produced later. This series production will also end in mid-December 2025. The plant is now being converted, but is to be retained as a delivery and experience location. The first joint research projects with the TU are due to start in the middle of this year, with regular operations beginning in 2027.