VW goes Binnenschifffahrt

Most of the VW Group's finished vehicles are currently being transported to their final destination by truck. The finished vehicles are partly transported by rail. In view of the current aspects of the social sustainability debate and the generally increased sensitivity of the consumers of new vehicles, inland waterways are now being considered for the transport of the finished vehicles. In this project, therefore, the VW Group's transport flows are analyzed with regard to a possible shift to inland shipping, potential shifting of sensible transport flows to inland shipping is identified and the perception of sustainable vehicle distribution is evaluated based on a possible purchase decision based on consumer perception.

The following research questions are answered in the project:

• Which transport flows can sensibly be shifted to inland waterways?
• What effects will a shift to inland waterways have? What opportunities and what challenges will the shift to inland waterway vessels create?
• How important is sustainable transport from the consumer's point of view?