Ed Richardson VOLKSWAGEN SOUTH Africa’s fully built car export programme is now concentrating on the Asia Pacific region as a more attractive option than Europe. In addition to Golf this has been extended to include the popular new Volkswagen Polo. According to VWSA MD Hans Christian Maergner, the total volume remains at 30 000 for the year, but with growth potential in the future. “The Far East was not the best option back in 1998 when we started with our export programme, but trade conditions have changed so much since then that it is now an attractive destination for Volkswagen SA to export to. “The Asia Pacific region offers good potential for exports for Volkswagen South Africa, the first shipment of Polos to Australia being a case in point. So far our exports to the region have gone according to expectation, another factor which sends a strong message of competitiveness within the Group. “Over the past five years VWSA has shown itself to be an important cog in the Volkswagen Group, and has successfully been able to maintain and expand our export programmes. This enables us to import top class passenger cars to the South African market at reasonable prices in line with the government’s MIDP strategy,” he says. In addition to the 30 000 export units, VWSA now has contracts to export R2 billion worth of components to Europe and China. These include catalytic converters and car sub-assemblies produced at VWSA’s plant in Uitenhage. The Uitenhage plant manufactured 77 000 units last year and Golf exports will soon reach the 175 000 mark.
