Volkswagen South Africa (VWSA) has produced its one-millionth Polo for export at its plant in Kariega, in the Eastern Cape, the company announced on May 3.
“Given the current climate, with the pandemic and the semiconductor crisis, this milestone is an especially strong moment for VWSA,” said VWSA chairperson and MD Robert Cisek.
VWSA’s Kariega plant started building Polos in 1996 and began exporting Polo models in 2002.
Currently, Polos built in Kariega are exported to 38 countries. The vehicles are specially built for right-hand-drive markets, while supplementing production for left-hand-drive markets.
The Kariega plant is also the sole manufacturer worldwide of the Polo GTI and also builds the Polo Vivo for the local market.
By the time the one-millionth export Polo rolled off the line on May 3, the plant had manufactured more than 4.1-million vehicles in total, of which nearly 1.3-million were built for export.
The most Polos exported in a year was in 2019, when the company exported 108 422 of them. The most in a month was in October that year, when VWSA exported 12 223 Polos.
VWSA employs about 3 619 people, making it one of the largest employers in the region. Its plant has the capacity to produce about 680 vehicles a day.