The Volkswagen Group Africa (VWGA) plant is located in Kariega, an industrial town around 750 km east of Cape Town and 1,000 km south of Johannesburg. With just over 3,500 employees, VWGA is the largest private employer in the Nelson Mandela Bay metro where it is located.
The plant, which has been building Volkswagens since 1951, stretches over 518 378m² and produces 710 vehicles per day. Apart from manufacturing engines, the Kariega plant currently builds the Polo Vivo and Polo for the South African market, and is the sole supplier of the Polo for European and Asia-Pacific markets. The Kariega plant is also the only manufacturer of the Polo GTI.
