Name of the Project
Volkswagen South Africa Group (VWSA) investment plan.

Location
Uitenhage, Eastern Cape, South Africa.

Client
VWSA.

Project Description
The project involves upgrading and expanding VWSA’s Uitenhage plant to produce two new models for the local and export markets.

Both models will use VW’s small car Modular Transverse Matrix (MQB) platform, which is used to build various models – from a Saveiro half-ton pickup to a small sports utility vehicle – and feature new technologies and driver-assistance systems.

The investment will also result in the Uitenhage operation’s moving from a predominantly right-hand-drive market to one also producing left-hand-drive vehicles in significant numbers.

The investment will result in the plant increasing capacity from the current 120 000 vehicles a year to 150 000 vehicles a year.

Jobs to be Created
Not stated.

Value
The investment of about R4.5-billion t to produce the new models,  announced last year, has been allocated to the upgrade and refurbishment of production facilities (R3-billion), the development of local supplier capacity (R1.5-billion) and the development and training of employees (R29-million).

Duration
Production of the two new models are expected to start in 2017, as the current models reach the end of their life cycle.

Latest Developments
VWSA has installed 320 new Kuka robots at its body shop as it ramps up to produce the new Polo – and one or two other unconfirmed models.

The robots form part of the MQB platform that will be introduced to the Uitenhage factory.

MQB platforms – there are several such platforms for smaller and larger cars – are Volkswagen’s strategy for shared modular construction of its transverse, front-engine, front-wheel drive vehicles. 

While a model may be said to use an MQB platform, it is not so much a platform, as a system for introducing standardisation across different platforms that share engine orientation, regardless of model, vehicle size or brand. 

This means MQB uses a core set of components across a variety of platforms, for example, sharing a common engine-mounting core for all drivetrains. As well as reducing weight, the concept, theoretically, allows for different models, including those from the company’s various brands, such as Audi and Skoda – to be manufactured at the same plant, saving costs.

In VWSA’s case, it will also enable the company to produce more than one model on a single assembly line.

The MQB platform to be implemented at VWSA extends from the A0 to B segment. Within the Volkswagen brand this will eventually cover the Polo, Beetle, Golf, Scirocco, Jetta, Tiguan, Touran, Sharan, Passat and Volkswagen CC models.

“The Kuka robots will perform monotonous, high-precision work that will enable body shop employees to focus on tasks which require human involvement,” says VWSA MD and chairperson Thomas Schaefer has said.

“The introduction of robots will improve the ergonomics in the body shop as it reduces strain on our people . . . It paves the way for higher volumes and even better quality.”

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
VWSA spokesperson Matt Gennrich, tel +27 11 911 2789, fax +27 11 911 2700 or email gennrich@vwsa.co.za.