VW Group Logistics launches Venice port terminal to optimise exports, reduce emissions and improve resilience across vehicle logistics

Volkswagen Group Logistics is strategically redesigning its European vehicle logistics network this year with the introduction of a new strategic automotive terminal in Venice to serve many of its plants in southern Germany and central Europe.

The terminal, which is set to begin official operations in autumn 2025 and will have storage capacity for up to 12,000 parking spaces, has been developed under the direction of the group’s logistics organisation, Volkswagen Group Logistics (Konzernlogistik), together with the North Adriatic Sea Port Authority (AdSP MAS) and Vezzani Terminal. The port is expected to reduce transport and lead times for vehicle exports, improve handling capacity and shorten critical shipping routes.

Peter Hörndlein, managing director of vehicle logistics at Volkswagen Group Logistics, pointed to opportunities to reduce logistics costs and emissions through shorter distances and more rail transport, as well as reducing vehicle inventory and working capital.

“We will be able to bring cars directly to the Mediterranean and from there move them to Asia, leading to shorter transport distances from the factories to the port, which improves the lead times and reduces the CO2 footprint,” he said. (Watch a Red Sofa video interview with Peter Hörndlein on Volkswagen Group’s vehicle logistics network engineering.)

Venice port is also well connected for inland transport, including three railway tracks for unloading trains, and shorter distances by road to key plants. The terminal also has a designated berth area to add to this optimal lead time and avoid congestion.

With the new terminal, Volkswagen Group will establish a major vehicle logistics hub in southern Europe, and serve as an important complement to operations at the group’s existing port network, which includes the ports of Emden, Bremerhaven and Cuxhaven in Germany, Zeebrugge (Belgium), as well as Santander and Barcelona (Spain), Koper (Slovenia) and Setúbal (Portugal).

Europe’s major northern ports for vehicle logistics, such as Bremerhaven and Zeebrugge, have in recent years struggled with capacity constraints across the industry, which included limited space for storage, shipping line congestion and vehicles sitting longer. At Emden, an important group operation for exports and imports, which is adjacent to a Volkswagen factory, Volkswagen Group moved 1.2m vehicles last year, down 5% from 2023 following challenges including port personnel shortages.

The port is part of a significant redesign of Volkswagen Group’s end-to-end vehicle logistics in Europe. Large volumes can be distributed across several ports, meaning that congestion and disruption can be avoided, said Hörndlein.

“We are constantly rethinking our network, and this is a great way for us to enhance resilience. All our flows to Asia and Turkey in the past have gone from ports in the North Sea and Koper in the Mediterranean. We had moved the vehicles up north from all our production sites and then transported them further on to Asia,” said Hörndlein.

Plants that will eventually see volumes shift to Venice for these destinations include production from southern Germany, including Audi factories in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm and Porsche near Stuttgart, as well as from Škoda plants in the Czech Republic, a Volkswagen Group plant in Bratislava, Slovakia and Audi in Győr, Hungary.

Venice’s location also opens a shorter route to the Middle East and Asia compared to northern European ports, thereby reducing transport times and significantly reducing vessel emissions. It also bypasses congestion at some other ports in the south of Europe that struggle with capacity, such as the port of Koper, Slovenia, according to Hörndlein.

The port’s location and shorter shipping time would become even more advantage for routes to Asia once shipping resumes in the Suez Canal.