The one millionth example of one of South Africa’s favourite passenger cars – the current-generation VW Polo – has rolled off the German auto giant’s local Kariega plant production line.
This marks yet another major production milestone for VW in South Africa, which has produced nearly 5 million vehicles at the plant over the past 75 years.
The milestone vehicle is a right-hand-drive Polo GTI in a smoky grey finish and is destined for the South African market.
VW’s plant in Kariega started manufacturing the current-generation Polo in 2017, with around 86% of these exported to international markets.
Popular destinations for the locally-built hatchback include Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, while 14% of these remained in the local market.
According to VW, the current-generation Polo accounts for nearly 21% of the 4,803,424 vehicles built at the Kariega plant over the years, and 48% of all Polo models manufactured at the plant.
Four generations of the popular hatch have been built in South Africa since 1996, and today, the Kariega plant is the sole global manufacturer and exporter of the Polo to 38 countries, including Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.
The milestone coincides with VWGA’s 75th year of vehicle manufacturing in South Africa and 30 years of local Polo production.
“This milestone is a proud moment for all of us at Volkswagen Group Africa and reflects the dedication and passion of our employees over many years,” said Ulrich Schwabe, Production Director of VWGA.
“Producing one million Polos in Kariega highlights the trust that global markets place in the quality of vehicles built in South Africa.”
He added that it also reinforces the Polo’s legacy as one of the most loved and successful models produced at VW’s local plant.
Another milestone for VW in South Africa
The one-millionth current-generation Polo is the latest in a series of milestones achieved by the local VW branch in recent years.
Earlier this year, VW celebrated exporting 500,000 units of the current-generation hatchback, which were all built at the Kariega plant.
The milestone unit was a Crystal Blue, right-hand-drive Polo destined for a customer in the United Kingdom.
The UK is currently the local arm’s second-biggest export destination, receiving 113,171 units between 2020 and 2026, with Germany now the biggest export market for the hatchback, receiving 124,711 units in the same period.
“Reaching the milestone of producing the 500,000th current generation Polo is a proud moment for our Production and Logistics team,” noted Schwabe at the time.
“This milestone shows the hard work, skill, and dedication of every employee at Plant Kariega.”
“Our people have dedicated three decades to building and delivering this beloved vehicle to our customers, and these teams are the reason the Polo continues to shine, both here at home and across the world.”
Toward the back-end of last year, VW celebrated local Polo production, across all generations, surpassing 2 million units.
The milestone unit was destined for export – a right-hand-drive Smoky Grey unit now owned by a customer in Australia.
In its first year of production (1996), VW produced roughly 5,460 Polo units at Kariega, and the site has been working non-stop to keep up with demand.
Of the two million Polos built so far, 592,840 were made for the local market, while 1,407,160 were assembled for export.
Production at the facility also is not showing any signs of slowing down, as VW plans to add a third vehicle to the plant’s production line by the end of next year.
The new model is the Tera, an affordable crossover that was primarily developed for Brazil.
VW plans to bring the Tera – renamed to Tengo in our market – to South Africa in hopes of re-establishing its competitive edge in the sub-R400,000 bracket.
Loading ...
