If more than one clue makes a proof, it now seems certain that the main German car manufacturer, Volkswagen, grappling with a crisis unlike any in its history, will try to save the fate of at least one of its plants in Germany, whose future is highly uncertain, by broadening its horizons to the arms business.
ABANDONED BY RHEINMETALL, DID VW TURN TO THE ISRAELIS?
Those who follow Start closely will recall that in recent months the news has surfaced on more than one occasion, especially because during 2025 the CEO of Rheinmetall, the largest German arms manufacturer, had clearly stated that he might be interested in acquiring the Osnabrück plant to convert it to military production.
Currently, Armin Papperger, the top manager leading the main defense company, remains silent, but this has not stopped VW, which recently presented – without ever displaying its brand – some armored vehicle prototypes at an industry fair.
Discovered by the German magazine Defence Network, which first reported the news (with photos), the Wolfsburg-based company had to admit it created these camouflage concept cars in Osnabrück, precisely the plant monitored by Rheinmetall and known to be seriously at risk of closure.
THE VOLKSWAGEN FACTORY HAS NO OTHER CHOICE: IT WILL HAVE TO PRODUCE WEAPONS
On March 10, Volkswagen announced it had recorded a nearly 50% drop in net profit in 2025, down to 6.9 billion euros, reaching, as highlighted by Teleborsa, the lowest level since the Dieselgate crisis in 2016.
For this reason, it became clear to everyone that the 10 billion euro cut plan agreed in the so-called “Christmas truce,” i.e., the approval obtained from worker representatives at the end of a 2024 marked by strikes, needed revision. Talks now mention 50,000 layoffs instead of the previous 30-35,000. The closure of some plants in Germany is increasingly predicted. Among these is Osnabrück, which, according to official data, currently employs 2,300 people and has no project yet after the end of T-Roc Cabriolet production scheduled for 2027.
VW’S BELLIGERENT PLANS
Now, according to the Financial Times, Volkswagen is reportedly in talks with the Israeli Rafael Advanced Defence System, a state-controlled company known for creating the Iron Dome missile defense shield, for an agreement that would shift production at the Osnabrück site from cars to weapons, specifically missile defense systems.
The deal, details Teleborsa, would bring the production of heavy trucks for transporting anti-missile systems, launchers, and electric generators to the plant located in Lower Saxony. Rafael might also build another facility in Germany to manufacture the missiles.
Volkswagen has stated that, although it is in discussions with several market players, it does not intend to dedicate the site to the production of “actual” weapons, implying that it prefers to produce – probably to avoid tarnishing its image painstakingly cleaned after the Dieselgate scandal – armored vehicles and defense-related equipment. But these are details, especially in light of the possible industrial pivot underway.
