Volkswagen Group South Africa (VWSA) has set a new record for the number of vehicles produced in one month.
The company’s plant in Uitenhage, in the Eastern Cape, produced 16 453 vehicles in October, exceeding the company’s previous record, set a decade ago, in October, 2009, when the plant manufactured 15 131 units in a single month.
The production schedule for October estimated that 16 179 units would be produced – which would have already beaten the record – but the production team managed to achieve an even higher number.
By the end of October, the plant had produced 140 482 vehicles for the year, of which 92 029 vehicles were for export markets.
To date, the company has produced a total of 1 075 923 vehicles for export.
“It is proof of VWSA’s commitment to excellence that the plant was able to achieve this milestone,” says VWSA chairperson and MD Thomas Schäfer.
“I am proud of each and every employee who contributed to making this new record a reality, and I am confident that together we can achieve many more milestones like this one, to the benefit of the economy of Nelson Mandela Bay.”
Schäfer says the VWSA plant is on track to achieve a record yearly production volume of 162 000 units by the end of the year.
This will be an 18% jump on the previous record, set in 2011, of 138 000 units.