Volkswagen Group Africa’s Kariega plant has reached a new milestone, producing its 500,000th unit of the latest Polo model, a Kings Red example headed for Germany.
The Eastern Cape facility, which became known as the “Home of Polo” just over a year ago, has been assembling the popular hatchback since 1996. Production of the current facelifted sixth-generation version began in August 2021.
Since July this year, Kariega has been the sole global supplier of the Polo for Europe and the Asia Pacific region.
The plant exports to more than 30 countries while still serving customers in South Africa. Of the current model, 452,207 units have been built for export and 47,793 for the domestic market.
In total, the factory has produced nearly two million Polos, 1,992,464 to be exact, over the past 29 years.
The Polo was South Africa’s most exported passenger vehicle in 2024 and recently earned double honours at the Naamsa Accelerator Awards, winning the Vehicle of the Year: Top Local Manufacturer and Top Exported Vehicle of the Year titles.
“The role of the Polo in the Volkswagen Group Africa success story has been a strong one, and the same can be said of its contribution to this country’s automotive exports,” said Ulrich Schwabe, production director at VWGA.
“I am proud to share in this milestone with the colleagues who build, sell and export this high-quality car to the world.”
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