Volkswagen SA builds 1.5-millionth export vehicle

Volkswagen Group Africa on Monday celebrated the 1.5-millionth vehicle built for export in Kariega rolling off the line.

The vehicle, a Polo GTI destined for the UK, marked the 21,165th vehicle built for export in 2024 so far. The Kariega plant in the Eastern Cape built 101,557 Polos for export in 2023, making it the country’s most exported car.

The plant’s record for export units in one year was achieved in 2019, when the team built 108,422 cars for export markets.

Volkswagen Group Africa has been building vehicles for export since 1992, including the Jetta and the Golf. The Kariega plant is the sole manufacturer of the Polo hatchback, which it exports to 38 markets worldwide. The plant has been building the current Polo since January 2018 and began production of the facelifted version in August 2021. It also produces the popular Polo Vivo for the SA market.

“Celebrating another production milestone this early in the year sets the tone for a successful 2024,” said Volkswagen Group Africa production director Ulrich Schwabe.

A new compact SUV will be built at the plant as a third model line. VW has not named the vehicle but confirmed it will be a small crossover built on the Volkswagen MQB-27 platform that underpins the Polo. It will be positioned below the imported T-Cross.

The vehicle provided the opportunity for a bakkie later, Volkswagen SA MD Martina Biene said at the company’s recent indaba media event in Kariega.

Biene said VW planned to boost production of Polos and Polo Vivos to 150,000 units at the Kariega plant in 2024 for the local and export markets, an increase of about 10,000 units over 2023.