{"id":86657,"date":"2026-09-07T17:42:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T17:42:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/86657\/"},"modified":"2026-09-07T17:42:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T17:42:15","slug":"volkswagen-strikes-deal-with-israels-aurelius-capital-to-turn-car-plant-into-defence-factory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/86657\/","title":{"rendered":"Volkswagen strikes deal with Israel\u2019s Aurelius Capital to turn car plant into defence factory"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

The deal to sell its factory comes days after Volkswagen unveiled a major revamp to cut jobs and simplify its structure.TOBIAS SCHWARZ\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Volkswagen<\/a> VWAGY<\/a> on Monday struck a preliminary deal that \u2060will see \u200bone of its German sites switch to defence production under new ownership, a first in the automaker\u2019s efforts to restructure plants struggling to compete with lower-cost Chinese rivals.<\/p>\n

The deal offers a potential blueprint for other Volkswagen sites facing an uncertain future as Europe\u2019s largest carmaker embarks on its biggest \u200bever restructuring to revive margins and battle chronic overcapacity in its \u200cstagnant European market.<\/p>\n

Under the initial terms of the deal, Volkswagen will sell its factory in Osnabrueck to Israel\u2019s Aurelius Capital and Volkswagen\u2019s home state of Lower Saxony, in a move labour officials said could preserve about 1,400 of the site\u2019s 1,800 jobs.<\/p>\n

The agreement comes days after Volkswagen unveiled a major revamp to cut jobs and simplify \u200cits structure, highlighting how \u200brising defence spending in Europe \u200ccould help absorb excess manufacturing capacity in the automotive sector.<\/p>\n

Volkswagen has warned that up to four \u200bGerman plants could face closure or repurposing unless alternative uses \u2060can be found amid weak demand, high costs and growing competition from China.<\/p>\n

Volkswagen\u2019s surprise turnaround agreement averts stakeholder clash as job cuts loom<\/a><\/p>\n

Aurelius Capital and Lower Saxony, Volkswagen\u2019s second-largest shareholder, signed a statement of intent on Monday to take over the factory, where \u200bvehicle production is due to end in 2027.<\/p>\n

Volkswagen said an initial \u201canchor project\u201d for Osnabrueck would be a cooperation with Israel\u2019s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, one of the key partners behind Israel\u2019s Iron Dome, Arrow and David\u2019s Sling air and missile defence systems, confirming what sources told Reuters in May.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese plans involve the potential manufacture of systems and components for \u2060air defence systems for Germany and Europe,\u201d Volkswagen said, adding the cooperation could pave the way for further such deals.<\/p>\n

Additional projects could involve converting VW Amarok pick-up trucks into military vehicles, a person familiar with the matter said, adding Polish defence firm WB Group could do the same for vehicles from MAN, owned by Volkswagen\u2019s Traton business.<\/p>\n

Lower Saxony and WB Group declined to comment on the plans, which \u2060were first reported by German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.<\/p>\n

Defence production is \u200bincreasingly being seen as a solution for underused automotive plants, with companies including Rheinmetall and Continental pursuing similar initiatives.<\/p>\n

Under \u2060the proposal, Aurelius would take a majority stake in the site alongside Lower Saxony, whose premier Olaf Lies said the state\u2019s engagement would \u200cbe similar to its purchase of a stake in the Meyer Werft shipyard in 2024.<\/p>\n

At the time, \u200bLower Saxony spent \u20ac200 million ($232 million) for a 40% stake in the shipyard.<\/p>\n

\u201cOsnabrueck brings with it something that cannot be built from scratch: many years of experience with demanding products, precise manufacturing processes and high-quality, well-coordinated teams and a strong tradition,\u201d Aurelius Capital\u2019s Tomer Jacob said.<\/p>\n

The investor lists cybersecurity, \u200bdrone technology and satellite systems among its focus areas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: The deal to sell its factory comes days after Volkswagen unveiled a major…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":86658,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20947],"tags":[3711,3701,3712,3694,3692,3713,2042,3691,3706,3707,3703,3693,3690,95,1384,1442,3705,3699,3724,3695,3696,1235,3702,96,1304,3714,3698,3719,3720,3722,3717,3721,3715,3718,3697,3709,3710,358,3708,3716,3700,43,537,3704,2469,5356,46,3723],"class_list":["post-86657","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-volkswagen","tag-alberta","tag-arts-news","tag-bc","tag-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news-video","tag-british-columbia","tag-canada","tag-canada-news","tag-canada-sports","tag-canada-sports-news","tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","tag-canadian-breaking-news","tag-canadian-news","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-environment","tag-federal-government","tag-foreign-news","tag-globe-and-mail","tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","tag-government","tag-life-news","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-news","tag-manitoba","tag-national-news","tag-new-brunswick","tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","tag-northwest-territories","tag-nova-scotia","tag-nunavut","tag-ontario","tag-pei","tag-photos","tag-political-news","tag-political-opinion","tag-politics","tag-politics-news","tag-quebec","tag-sports-news","tag-technology","tag-travel","tag-trudeau","tag-us-news","tag-volkswagen","tag-world-news","tag-yukon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86657","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86657"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86657\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86658"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}