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Volkswagen Group Rus has invested about EUR 4 million in optimization and modernization of manufacturing processes at its Kaluga plant since 2011 in order to improve the environmental performance of the production facility. And the investments paid-off: the volume of industrial waste at the plant in 2011-2013 decreased by 37% (2011: 33.46 kg/vehicle; 2013: 21.07 kg/vehicle). This figure exceeds the target set by the head office for Kaluga plant by  12%.

Andreas Klar, Director, Volkswagen Group Rus Kaluga Plant, said: “Volkswagen is focused on efficient and environmentally friendly production. Thanks to our pro-active employees in Kaluga we have developed and implemented a number of useful initiatives/ For instance, we managed to reduce the volume of industrial waste by 37%”.  

The plant management has introduced a continuous training of employees and  developed a new waste collection and sorting concept. The plant employees took an active part in development of a solution ensuring gradual reduction in timber, plastic and polymer waste generation. For instance, a new production line was commissioned in August 2014 in the paint shop of the plant. This helped to reduce the amount of paint waste by 155 t per annum. Such measures aimed at the plant modernization ensure better environmental performance and the reduction of waste recovery costs by up to EUR 30,000.  

Think Blue. Factory program was launched by Volkswagen in 2012. Its motto is the following: "More sustainability – less environmental impact". By 2018, waste production, water consumption and solvent and carbon dioxide emissions per one produced vehicle are to be reduced by 25 percent as compared to 2010.. "Think Blue. Factory." is part of "Think Blue.",  Volkswagen brand's holistic initiative for greater environmental sustainability. 

Volkswagen Group Rus

Volkswagen Group Rus brings together the work of the seven brands in the Volkswagen Group that are available on the Russian market — Volkswagen, ŠKODA, Audi, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, SEAT, Bentley, and Lamborghini. In 2013, the company’s sales in Russia reached almost 300,000 vehicles, of which 188,000 were produced in this country.

Starting from November 2007, Volkswagen Group Rus has been manufacturing automobiles in Kaluga, 170 km southwest of Moscow. In October 2009, the plant celebrated the official launch of its full cycle production in a ceremony attended by Vladimir Putin and other top government officials. At the moment, Volkswagen Tiguan, Volkswagen Polo sedan and ŠKODA Rapid are being produced at the plant in Kaluga. On June 14, 2011, Volkswagen Group Rus and GAZ Group signed an agreement for the contract assembly of Volkswagen and ŠKODA automobiles at the GAZ plant in Nizhny Novgorod. In accordance with that agreement, a full cycle production of ŠKODA Yeti, Volkswagen Jetta and ŠKODA Octavia has already begun at GAZ.

With total investment of some €1.3 billion, the company has become one of the largest investors in the Russian automotive industry. The Group will be investing a further €1.2 billion in Russia up to the end of 2018.

In 2009 Volkswagen Group Rus became the official automobile partner for the Sochi 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. The company provides the Sochi-2014Organizing Committee with more than 3,000 cars from the Volkswagen, Audi, ŠKODA, and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles brands in order to transport guests during the preparations for the 2014 Games and over the course of the Games themselves. The majority of the cars is manufactured at the company’s plants in Russia.