- Installations and upgrades planned across Production over four weeks
- Approximately 60% of the work was completed over shutdown in December 2024
In preparation for the third model that will be manufactured by Volkswagen Group Africa from 2027, Plant Kariega will spend the next four weeks installing and upgrading facilities throughout its Production areas.
Vehicle production of the popular Polo and Polo Vivo will be 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.
The planned work builds on the foundation of the installations performed in December 2024 during the plant’s annual shutdown. Approximately 60% of the required changes were effected over the 25 days of shutdown, including the installation of 38 new fixtures and seven new robots, along with other modifications.
Making up the remaining 40%, the work planned for the coming four weeks includes finalising all installations completed in Body Shop, station modifications and the programming of robots in Paint Shop, and modifying conveyors in Final Assembly, among other tasks. The completion of this work will also mark the start of the commissioning phase of the A0 SUV Entry project.
The preparations for the third model – which was announced alongside a R4-billion investment at the VW Indaba event in February 2024 – extend beyond Production as well. The Procurement team has completed the nominations of suppliers, in line with the localisation targets set for the new model’s parts. Meanwhile, the Product Development team is collaborating with colleagues at Volkswagen do Brasil to develop the vehicle, with a VWGA employee stationed at the VW plant in São Bernardo do Campo as Technical Project Leader. The Production team is also collaborating with their Brazilian counterparts for the launch of this model.
Additionally, the company will soon be issuing an invitation to customers across the African continent to help select the name of this new model.
“This project is understandably a very exciting one for us,” said VWGA Production Director, Ulrich Schwabe. “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.”
