Volkswagen Group Africa (VWGA) has begun a four-week upgrade of facilities in its Kariega factory near Gqeberha in preparation for the third model that will be assembled and sold in SA from 2027.
Production of the Polo and Polo Vivo is being halted from April 14 to May 12 while teams work on the body shop, paint shop and final assembly.
The planned work builds upon the installations performed in December during the plant’s annual shutdown where about 60% of the required changes were effected, including the installation of 38 new fixtures and seven new robots.
Volkswagen announced in early 2024 that it would build a small SUV as a third model at the Kariega plant alongside the Polo and Polo Vivo in a R4bn investment. VWGA’s product development team is collaborating with colleagues at Volkswagen do Brasil Ltda, to develop the vehicle.
The car has been identified as a Polo-based crossover that will slot under the imported T-Cross as VW’s smallest and most affordable SUV. In March the car had its global premiere in Brazil, where it will be called the Tera, but it will have a different name in SA.
VWGA MD Martina Biene last month said that four “African” names had been shortlisted for the vehicle in SA and the company would soon be issuing an invitation to customers across Africa to help select the name of the new model.
VWGA spokesperson Andile Dlamini told Motor News the car would be built in left- and right-hand drive at Kariega for the local market, and exported to countries in Africa and other as-yet-unnamed markets, not including Europe.
Technical details of the Tera have not yet been disclosed and only the exterior and interior design have been shown.
In SA the car is likely to be powered by one or more of the three engines available in the Polo Vivo range, which comprise normally aspirated 1.4l and 1.6l petrol four-cylinder units and a turbocharged 1.0l three-cylinder.
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