Volkswagen Group Africa's Plant Kariega will spend the next four weeks installing and upgrading facilities throughout its Production areas in preparation for the third model, the A0 SUV Entry project, that will be manufactured by 2027.
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Volkswagen Group Africa (VWGA) will temporarily halt the production of the popular Polo and Polo Vivo models for one month as Plant Kariega in the Eastern Cape as the plant will instal and upgrade facilities throughout its production areas.
The global auto manufacturer on Wednesday said vehicle production of the VW Polo and VW Polo Vivo was halted from 14 April to 12 May to allow teams to perform the required work on the line in areas such as Body Shop, Paint Shop and Final Assembly, in preparation for the third model that will be manufactured from 2027.
The upcoming upgrades are a continuation of prior installations completed during the annual shutdown in December 2024, where approximately 60% of the necessary changes were implemented. This included the installation of 38 new fixtures and seven modern robots, all crucial for updating the production line.
The upcoming four-week period will focus on finalising the modifications in the Body Shop, station modifications and the programming of robots in Paint Shop, and modifying conveyors in Final Assembly, among other tasks.
VWGA's commitment to this new vehicle extends, which was announced alongside a R4 billion investment at the VW Indaba event in February 2024, extends beyond Production as well.
Strategic preparations also involve the Procurement team, which has completed supplier nominations to align with the localisation targets for the new model’s parts.
VWGA production director, Ulrich Schwabe, said the Product Development team was working alongside Volkswagen do Brasil in a collaborative effort, with a dedicated VWGA employee stationed at the São Bernardo do Campo plant as Technical Project Leader.
Schwabe said this partnership aimed to seamlessly integrate expertise from both regions for a successful model launch.
“This project is understandably a very exciting one for us,” Schwabe said.
“When the first unit of this new vehicle rolls off our production line, it will be a proud moment for the entire Volkswagen Group Africa family, and I firmly believe this new vehicle will be just as iconic as the beloved Polo and Vivo we are already building.”
VWGA concluded 2024 on a high note, by celebrating its all-time production record of 167 084 vehicles, the highest number of vehicles produced at the Kariega plant since the first Beetle rolled off the production line 73 years ago and surpassing the previous production record of 161 954 vehicles achieved in 2019.
BUSINESS REPORT