- The Kariega plant has been building the current Polo since 2018
- The Polo is sold locally and exported to 38 countries
Kariega (Uitenhage) – Less than five years since the launch of the current Polo model, Volkswagen Group South Africa (VWSA) celebrated the half-million mark of this vehicle being built in Kariega.
The 500 000th unit of the current Polo recently rolled off the production line at the Kariega plant. This milestone follows about four and a half years after the launch of the current Polo in January 2018, and a few months after the facelifted Polo was introduced to the local market at the start of 2022.
This special vehicle, a white left-hand-drive GTI which will be exported to France, also marked the 4 202 260th vehicle built at the Kariega plant to date – which means the current Polo model accounts for almost 12% of all vehicles built here since 1948.
Of the 500 000 Polo units, 90 004 were built for the local market and 409 996 were destined for export markets. Included in this is 77 397 units of the facelifted Polo.
This milestone follows on the heels of VWSA celebrating the 1-millionth Polo built for export in May this year. VWSA currently exports the Polo built in Kariega to 38 countries, building this vehicle for all right-hand-drive markets and supplementing production for left-hand-drive markets. The Kariega plant is also the sole manufacturer worldwide of the Polo GTI.
“As VWSA and one of only two plants worldwide building this vehicle, we are proud to achieve the half-million mark,” said Ulrich Schwabe, Production Director at VWSA. “Despite difficult circumstances in the industry and the global community, the VWSA family has persevered to bring us this milestone. Just as we faced the challenges as a team, we will celebrate this achievement – and many more to follow – as a team.”
