Volkswagen in talks to make Iron Dome parts at struggling German auto plant: report

BERLIN — Volkswagen is in discussions with Israeli defense company Rafael Advanced Defence Systems to convert its factory in Osnabrück, Germany, into a production site for components of the Iron Dome air defense system, the Financial Times reported this week, citing multiple sources familiar with the plans.

The reported talks are one of the most dramatic signs yet of a structural shift underway in Germany’s automotive sector, which has struggled to stay competitive in the car industry and has increasingly reoriented itself toward manufacturing military gear.

The Federal Association of the German Security and Defence Industry last year proposed repurposing idle auto capacity for defense output, as Berlin began unlocking hundreds of billions of euros in new military spending under the country’s ambitious rearmament plans and the EU’s ReArm Europe framework.

Several automotive manufacturers have begun to retool factories and retrain workers. Among them, Rheinmetall has already moved to convert two of its own automotive plants in Berlin and Neuss. VW’s reported discussions with Rafael would extend that logic to the civilian carmaker.

The Osnabrück plant employs around 2,300 workers and currently produces the T-Roc Cabriolet, a model being phased out by mid-2027. Oliver Blume, the company’s CEO, had announced a week earlier that VW would no longer produce any of its own cars at the Osnabrück plant starting next year.

Under a prospective deal, the facility would manufacture support components for the Iron Dome − heavy-duty transport trucks, launch units and power generators − rather than interceptor missiles, which Rafael plans to produce at a separate German facility. Regarding the jobs at the plant, an insider told the FT the goal was to “save everybody, maybe even to grow.”

A battery of Israel's Iron Dome missile-defense system sits in Ashkelon, southern Israel, on Aug. 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit, File)

The talks come as Volkswagen contends with its worst financial performance in nearly a decade. The group’s operating profit collapsed 53.5% in 2025 to €8.9 billion ($10.3 billion), and net profit fell 44% to €6.9 billion − the lowest since the “Dieselgate” scandal.

VW announced plans in March to cut 50,000 jobs in Germany by 2030, including at subsidiaries Audi and Porsche. Negotiations to sell the Osnabrück plant to Rheinmetall stalled, and the defense giant ultimately turned down the deal in mid-March.

No agreement about making Iron Dome components there has been finalized. The car maker said it is still examining options for the plant. The works council − which holds significant clout under German labor law − must approve any conversion, and its position is the pivotal variable. Production, if approved, could begin within 12 to 18 months.

Linus Höller is Defense News' Europe correspondent and OSINT investigator. He reports on the arms deals, sanctions, and geopolitics shaping Europe and the world. He holds master’s degrees in WMD nonproliferation, terrorism studies, and international relations, and works in four languages: English, German, Russian, and Spanish.

柏林——据《金融时报》本周报道，大众汽车正与以色列国防公司拉斐尔先进防御系统公司进行磋商，计划将其位于德国奥斯纳布吕克的工厂改造成“铁穹”防空系统部件的生产基地。该报道援引了多位知情人士的消息。

据报道，这些会谈是德国汽车行业正在发生结构性转变的最引人注目的迹象之一。德国汽车行业一直难以保持竞争力，并日益转向制造军用装备。

去年，德国安全与国防工业联邦协会提议将闲置的汽车产能用于国防生产，与此同时，柏林开始根据该国雄心勃勃的重整军备计划和欧盟的“重整欧洲”框架，释放数千亿欧元的新军费开支。

多家汽车制造商已开始改造工厂并对工人进行再培训。其中，莱茵金属公司已着手改造其位于柏林和诺伊斯的两家汽车工厂。据报道，大众汽车与拉斐尔公司的洽谈将把这一逻辑延伸至民用汽车制造商。

奥斯纳布吕克工厂雇佣了约 2300 名工人，目前生产 T-Roc Cabriolet 车型，该车型将于 2027 年年中逐步停产。公司首席执行官奥利弗·布鲁姆一周前宣布，大众汽车从明年开始将不再在奥斯纳布吕克工厂生产任何自有品牌的汽车。

根据一项潜在协议，该工厂将生产“铁穹”防御系统的配套部件——重型运输卡车、发射装置和发电机——而不是拦截导弹，后者由拉斐尔公司计划在另一家德国工厂生产。关于该工厂的就业情况，一位内部人士告诉《金融时报》，目标是“保住所有人的饭碗，甚至可能扩大规模”。

2022年8月7日，以色列南部城市阿什凯隆，以色列“铁穹”导弹防御系统的一组防御装置。（美联社照片/阿里尔·沙利特，资料照片）

此次谈判正值大众汽车面临近十年来最糟糕的财务业绩之际。该集团2025年的营业利润暴跌53.5%至89亿欧元（103亿美元），净利润下降44%至69亿欧元——这是自“柴油门”丑闻以来的最低水平。

大众汽车3月份宣布计划到2030年在德国裁员5万人，其中包括其子公司奥迪和保时捷。将奥斯纳布吕克工厂出售给莱茵金属的谈判陷入僵局，这家国防巨头最终在3月中旬拒绝了这笔交易。

关于在该工厂生产“铁穹”导弹系统部件的协议尚未最终敲定。这家汽车制造商表示仍在研究该工厂的各种方案。根据德国劳动法，拥有重要影响力的工会必须批准任何工厂改造计划，其立场至关重要。如果获得批准，生产最早可能在12至18个月内启动。

林努斯·霍勒是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者和开源情报调查员。他报道影响欧洲乃至全球的军火交易、制裁和地缘政治。他拥有大规模杀伤性武器不扩散、恐怖主义研究和国际关系三个硕士学位，并精通英语、德语、俄语和西班牙语四种语言。