Reuters: Rafael buys Volkswagen plant in Germany

The Reuters news agency reports that the Israeli defense concern Rafael has signed a memorandum of intent to acquire the Osnabrück plant from the Volkswagen automobile concern.

The publication came after the group’s CEO Oliver Blume said during a video conference with investors that “the group is in advanced negotiations with companies in the defense sector.”

Let us recall that earlier European media reported that Rafael was negotiating to re-equip the plant in Osnabrück to produce components for the Iron Dome missile defense system.

The plant is expected to produce the trucks that house the Iron Dome batteries, as well as the generators to power the system and the launchers – but not the interceptor missiles.

The publication notes that Volkswagen’s major shareholders include the government of Lower Saxony and the Qatar Sovereign Investment Fund, and that the success of the deal will largely depend on the decisions of the concern’s workers, who have their representation in management and have a strong mandate in making business and strategic decisions.

The plant in Osnabrück occupies 430 thousand square meters. m and is considered relatively small, but is one of the oldest in the history of the concern. Founded in 1874 as a carriage workshop, it later became the production site of the Karmann company, which at one time went bankrupt. Karmann was a major body supplier for Volkswagen, producing models such as the Corrado and convertible versions of the Golf. According to Volkswagen, the plant produced about 2.5 million vehicles from 1949 to 2009. In 2009, Volkswagen bought the company from the bankrupt Karmann and registered it under the name Volkswagen Osnabrück GmbH. In 2012, production of the Porsche Boxster began here. Over time, the plant expanded its model range: in 2015 it began producing the Porsche Cayenne, in 2016 – the first generation Tiguan, in 2018 – the Škoda Karoq, in 2020 – the VW T-Roc Cabriolet.

Currently, the plant produces three models – all niche: the T-Roc convertible, as well as the Cayman and Boxster – two outdated Porsche models that the concern is preparing to discontinue.