Volkswagen's Hanover van plant is 70 today

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is celebrating 70 years of production at its Hanover plant today.

The factory officially began building the original T1 Transporter on 8 March 1956 and is expected to produce its 11 millionth vehicle during 2026. 

Seventy years on from the first van rolling off the production line, the Hanover plant is still an important part of Volkswagen’s van operations.

It is currently the hub for electric van production and will be the site for future autonomous vehicle builds.

Currently the Hanover site produces the ID Buzz, ID Buzz Cargo and Multivan. Production of the latest California camper is also due to be fully integrated into the main plant from later this summer.

The big news, though, is that pre-series production of the fully autonomous ID Buzz AD is now ramping up in Hanover ahead of full series production in 2027. We took a tour of the production lines and saw the new VW ID Buzz AD autonomous van for ourselves.

Volkswagen says this marks the start of the industrialisation phase for the autonomous model, which uses Mobileye technology and forms part of MOIA’s turnkey mobility solution for city transport services. Around 500 pre-series vehicles are planned for projects in Europe and the USA during 2026. 

The self-driving ID Buzz AD goes through the same main production areas as standard ID Buzz models, but then goes into an additional loop where the roof-mounted sensor module, radar, lidar, cameras are fitted. There's also a high-performance computer. It then undergoes extensive calibration before being ready to transport passengers.

Alongside vehicle assembly, Hanover also plays a wider role in the Group’s EV push through local battery system production.

Volkswagen says the site will expand battery system output during 2026, adding future capability for both LFP and NMC chemistries and lifting maximum production capacity by 50%. The upgraded operation is expected to supply four VW Group brands across seven locations. 

Around 13,000 people work across Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles and Volkswagen Group Components at the 1.1 million sq m site.