Volkswagen expansion in Africa and China. The Volkswagen Brand is expanding its engagement in Africa, making a substantial contribution to Africa’s economic development with the start of its Integrated Mobility Solution in Rwanda that includes local vehicle assembly, innovative mobility services and a sales and service retail outlet CFAO Volkswagen Rwanda.
The project kicks off with community car sharing in the capital Kigali, followed by a ride hailing service, and further mobility services are planned for 2019. On the production side, local assembly of the latest-generation Polo and Passat will now commence, with other models planned for the future. Initially it is planned to build up to 1,000 vehicles per year depending on demand and the success of the mobility fleet, with an annual production capacity of up to 5,000 units which can be expanded further if required.
Meanwhile, in China, following the completion of the Foshan Plant Phase II, the Foshan production site’s capacity will double from 300,000 to 600,000 cars annually. As the first SUV-model of the Volkswagen brand built by FAW-Volkswagen, the T-Roc successfully rolled off the line in April this year. Together with the Audi Q2L, which will also start production this year, it is a vital building block in the fast-growing SUV segment.
Vehicles currently produced on the MQB platform will soon be electrified and, by 2020, the MEB architecture will be introduced to the production line, alongside the production of MEB battery systems, also be located in Foshan. The newest electric models with the latest technologies of Volkswagen and Audi will be produced at the Foshan Plant. Through Roadmap E, the Volkswagen Group aims to release 40 new locally produced NEVs in the next 7 or 8 years, as it prepares to deliver up to 1.5 million NEVs annually by 2025.
