Volkswagen Group South Africa’s (VWSA’s) engine plant, in Uitenhage, in the Eastern Cape, was again operating at full capacity after receiving an additional export order from China, said the local manufacturer on Wednesday.

The additional order of more than 12 000 engines meant that the engine plant would now run at full capacity with three working shifts a day for the remainder of the year.

The plant was now scheduled to produce 107 200 engines in 2012, of which 50 200 engines were for the locally built Polo and Polo Vivo models, while 57 000 engines were destined for three export markets, namely India, Mexico and China, with the latter VWSA’s biggest engine export market.

“Exports are a key element of our business model and while our Polo exports tend to grab the headlines, engines and components form an integral part of our export strategy,” said VWSA MD David Powels.

“This additional order confirms our ability to supply our group customers. With the uncertainty in world markets at the moment, it is a welcome additional order for our plant,” he noted.

The VWSA engine plant, which opened in 1980, had, to date, produced 1.66-million engines. These include engines for icons such as the Citi Golf and T3 bus, as well as various other cars produced at the Uitenhage plant in the last three decades.

 

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