Volkswagen SA
Volkswagen South Africa has achieved another milestone at its motor vehicle manufacturing plant in Kariega by reaching the half-million mark in production of the VW Polo at the facility.
The Kariega plant has been building the current Polo since 2018 which it sells locally and also exports to 38 countries.
This milestone follows about four and a half years after the launch of the current Polo in January 2018, and a few months after the facelifted Polo was introduced to the local market at the start of 2022.
The 500 000th Polo, a white left-hand-drive GTI will be exported to France.
The Kariega plant is also the sole manufacturer worldwide of the Polo GTI.
VWSA says more than 4.2 million vehicles have been built at the Kariega plant to date - which means the current Polo model accounts for almost 12% of all vehicles built at the facility since production started way back in 1948.
"As VWSA and one of only two plants worldwide building this vehicle, we are proud to achieve the half-million mark," said Ulrich Schwabe, Production Director at VWSA.
"Despite difficult circumstances in the industry and the global community, the VWSA family has persevered to bring us this milestone. Just as we faced the challenges as a team, we will celebrate this achievement - and many more to follow - as a team."
