Johannesburg - Volkswagen's future as a manufacturer in South Africa as been secured, at least for the medium term, with the announcement the international parent company is investing over R4.5 billion in new products and infrastructure.
This is set to materialise by 2017 and VWSA said it will build a new model that's based on on the company's MQB platform. This new modular architecture, which currently underpins the Golf 7, is expected to eventually form the basis of most of VW's front-wheel drive products.
Although VWSA stopped short of announcing exactly which model it'll build, there's little reason to think it'll be anything other than the next-generation Polo, which is due for replacement in 2017.
It remains to be seen, however, whether the more affordable Polo Vivo, which is based on the previous generation Polo, will continue to be built at the Uitenhage plant. VW's communications general manager Matt Gennrich told our sister publication Business Report that the new products to be produced “may or may not” be in addition to what the company already builds.
What we do know is that the new product/s will be built for both local consumption and export, with local content also higher than the current level of 72 percent. That's certainly good news for our country's struggling manufacturing sector.
VWSA's MD Thomas Schaefer reiterated the company's commitment to local production:
“South Africa is not a logical production location for the motor industry as only 0.6% of the world's vehicle production is situated here.
“However due to the strategic location and the potential of Africa as a future market for exports, as well as the security that the APDP provides for investors, on-going investments in our vehicle manufacturing base makes sense.”