Amazing: VW’s Car Towers at Autostadt

VW’s historical Wolfsburg car plant is so popular, that the company has a tourist destination running adjacent to the plant in the name of Autostadt. It’s at the Autostadt that you have these exponents of modern day technology – the VW car towers, or silos.

Used to store cars before being delivered, these towers are 48 metre high, fully automated and can deliver an average of 600 vehicles per day. The towers also provide a great view of the entire facility from the top. The towers can store up to 800 new cars.

The car towers employ a robotic-pallet system to load and fetch cars from the car towers. The newly made cars are rolled over from the neighboring VW plant. There are two car shuttles or lifts for delivering and fetching cars each servicing 180° of the silo. These silos store cars, which are loaded in 24 hours in advance before they are delivered to the Car Distribution Centre located close by.

A signal which is activated by the customer-service agent sets one of the car shuttles in motion. The shuttle then selects the correct vehicle and conveys it to the centre of the tower from where it is gently lowered to the ground floor. Thereafter the new car rolls through a tunnel into the Car Distribution Centre. Here, in the LastFinish area, number plates are mounted before the customer takes final charge of the vehicle.

The tour to these car silos in Autostadt, Wolfsburg is known as The TurmFahrt (CarTower Discovery). It happens up to three times every hour and lasts approx fifteen minutes. The lift seats six, children taller than one meter are allowed. If ever you get a chance to visit the Autostadt, do have a look at these silos. Tickets will cost you – Adults: € 8, Reduced rate: € 6, Children (6-17 years), students: € 4