VW Group moves more than 1.2m vehicles through German port of Emden in 2024; almost 5% down on previous year

Volkswagen Group moved 1.2m vehicles through the German port of Emden in 2024, with more than a third of that figure made up of pure battery electric and hybrid vehicles. The total volume marked a decline of -4.6% on that handled in 2023 (see table). 

The group moved around 419,000 battery EVs (BEVs) and hybrid vehicles last year, which accounted for just under 34% of the total number of vehicles moved. That was down on the previous year when it moved 456,000 BEV and hybrid vehicles, accounting for more than 35% of the total number. Globally, VW Group sales of BEVs were down by -3.4% in 2024 compared to the previous year, with 744,800 delivered. Total deliveries worldwide stood at 9.3m (-2.3%). The group took a hit from the US where BEV sales fell -30% but increased in Europe in Q4 by +18% despite a difficult market in Germany.

“On our way to becoming the automotive technology leader, we have introduced more than 30 new models with numerous innovations – including many all-electric vehicles,” said Oliver Blume, CEO of VW Group. “In the all-electric vehicle segment, the Volkswagen Group is by far the market leader in Europe.

VW Group also moves finished vehicles through the Bremerhaven and Hamburg in Germany, as well as Koper (Slovenia), Santander (Spain) and Setúbal (Portugal). A spokesperson for VW Group said that a general shortage of operational personnel was noticeable at the ports and VW Group had to maintain close coordination with its terminal operators, rail providers and freight forwarders to ensure vehicles processing was carried out according to plan.

Digital twin for automated driving
That has been supported at Emden by the implementation of a new dock and yard management system and VW Group aims to increase the use of GPS in this system in the coming months.

Furthermore, Deutsche Telekom is working with VW Group Logistics, the Bremer Institut für Produktion und Logistik (Biba) and software developer Unikie on a 5G network and Edge data centre at VW’s terminal in Emden. It is aimed at supporting a new automated car initiative VW is running at the port using an external sensor infrastructure and an Edge data centre for fast data processing on site. The AutoLog project has been using the public 5G network to test wireless communication in the overall system, including servers, sensor infrastructure and vehicles. According to VW Group’s spokesperson, the test field (sensor infrastructure) is currently being set up on the logistics areas of the Emden plant (not currently at the port areas) and commissioning is expected in the first half of 2025.

However, Deutsche Telekom said it is providing the logistics area in the port of Emden with 5G coverage and because the Emden plant is directly connected to the port it means that various traffic situations, such as the mixed operation of manually and automatically driven vehicles, can be tested.

According to Deutsche Telekom a digital twin of the test field is created using Lidar sensors installed in the port of Emden, with sensors that can detect very small details accurately and in real time.

Unikie is supplying a marshalling system for the automatic control of the vehicles using a digital replica of the parking spaces. The Unikie Marshalling Solution (UMS) ensures that the vehicles can be controlled precisely and safely, even in densely populated or confined areas.

Following the announcement in December about a realignment of VW production in Europe, including the move of Golf production from Germany to Mexico, the pattern of volume shipments is expected to change in the coming years. VW Group Logistics will evaluate the results of the group strategy and manage the import/export of volumes accordingly, said VW Group’s spokesperson.

Read more about Emden volumes and traffic through the other leading vehicle-handling ports in Europe in our annual review which will be published in spring edition of Automotive Logistics magazine.