Start of Production
jangled nerves staged the globally highly anticipated “Start of Production” of the ID.3. In the presence of Federal Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel, the Minister-President of the Free State of Saxony, Michael Kretschmer, and VW Group CEO Dr. Herbert Diess, the first vehicle rolled off the production line at the Zwickau plant on 4 November 2019. With this, Volkswagen officially launched series production of the ID.3 electric car. The focus of the one-hour launch event, attended by several hundred guests from politics, business, media, and the workforce, was the system shift towards e-mobility.
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To emphasise the authenticity of the event, it took place right inside the Zwickau plant—because successful transformation is closely linked to identification. The conceptual idea behind the event was therefore to make it tangible for all guests how the Volkswagen workforce courageously embraced profound change. Transformation has a long tradition at the production site: vehicles from the Horch brand were initially built there, later the Trabant, and the Golf is still produced there today.
The staging was designed to create compelling visual experiences for both the audience and the media. For the ID.3 production launch, jangled nerves produced a series of immersive films. These were shown on a space-filling 270° screen surrounding the stage and audience area. As a result, guests and employees were not merely spectators of an automotive event, but became part of the experience itself. The film segments illustrated various transformation processes affecting the Zwickau site, both present and past: employee statements, recent technical changes for electric vehicle production, and a historical overview dating back to 1904. Interviews with employees formed the central message Volkswagen communicated to the automotive world.
To make the event visually tangible, each speaker was given an individual setting: Thomas Ulbrich, Board Member for E-Mobility of the Volkswagen brand, appeared in “his plant”; works council chairman Jens Rothe spoke surrounded by employees; and Minister-President Michael Kretschmer stood on Zwickau’s main square. Dr. Herbert Diess delivered his speech in front of the new Volkswagen ID. family and a striking key visual that powerfully showcased the ID.3’s carbon-neutral production.
The venue was the company’s own logistics hall. Three interconnected zones were created within the 150-metre-long space: an 800 m² reception area serving as the ID.3 brand space, an approximately equally large show area with a stage, and an aftershow area spanning over 1,000 m² functioning as a complete TV studio. This provided ample space for numerous media representatives, with camera teams having access to five ID.3 vehicles. The studio also offered numerous opportunities for undisturbed interviews and in-depth information. Visually, the backstage environment resembled a production line. It remained closed during the show and only came into play at the climax of the staging—the “Start of Production”. When the screen opened and the first ID.3 drove onto the stage through a tunnel of light, media presentation and staged space merged completely on that day.
