VW South Africa (VWSA) had a busy 2022 with the launch of a new Polo hatchback and sedan, Golf GTI, Caddy, Taigo, and more, and while the manufacturer will take a small breather in 2023, it doesn’t plan on slowing down any time soon.
VW has big plans for the local market as well as the rest of the sub-Saharan African region including the launch of all-new models as well as the potential expansion of its manufacturing operations.
The company outlined its next steps for South Africa in a recent media presentation.
What’s coming in 2023
Next year holds a few exciting events for VW in South Africa.
Barely three months in, the manufacturer will hit the ground running with one of its most important launches in a long time, the new VW Amarok.
The double cab will be available in five specifications and for the first time will be assembled in South Africa alongside the Ford Ranger in Silverton, Gauteng as part of a joint venture between the automakers.
After the bakkie, the next vehicle in the pipeline is the high-performance Golf R which is expected in showrooms around the winter months of 2023.
The four-wheel-drive hatchback’s domestic launch was pushed out by over a year due to component shortages and supply-chain issues brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which is one of the countries where VW sources critical parts from.
As such, the company held off on debuting its athletic R in South Africa until it had enough units available to satisfy buyers’ demand.
After 2023
After 2023, VWSA’s new managing director and group chair, Martina Biene, confirmed that the subsidiary will look at producing a third product at its Kariega plant in the Eastern Cape alongside the ubiquitous Polo and Polo Vivo to offset the loss of exports to the European region as it continues its crackdown on internal combustion engines (ICEs).
This was previously reported to be an electric SUV of some kind, but she confirmed that it will be of an ICE variety that will be “aimed at the African continent.”
However, a locally-produced VW-badged EV is not out of the question as Biene said that by the middle of next decade, around 2035, the manufacturer plans to be producing a battery-electric model either in South Africa or in another country in sub-Sahara Africa.
VW also aims to “accelerate the EV journey” in the entire region through investment in infrastructure and naturally, also the launch of battery-powered cars.
The company did not reveal when its first EV will go on sale in the domestic market, though. It previously confirmed to TopAuto that it does “not have EVs coming to SA next year (2023)”, so we currently have our sights set on 2024 at the earliest.
On the commercial side of things, Mark Handley head of VWSA commercial vehicles said his department is also looking at potentially getting into the electric arena after the Amarok’s introduction.
He said the recently-unveiled ID. Buzz battery-powered minivan is one of the vehicles that are in the commercial department’s crosshairs but, unfortunately, there is currently “no timeline for the ID. Buzz in South Africa, yet.”
Biene said the company needs a “critical base” of customers to justify bringing a new model into a specific region, which constitutes between 50,000 to 60,000 projected sales per annum across all the markets a specific subsidiary services.
Until this level of demand can be attained, there’s a good chance the vehicle will not be coming to sub-Saharan African soil.
Join the discussion