(Ecofin Agency) - The South African subsidiary of Volkswagen expects a record rise in its production this year, Thomas Schaefer, managing director of Volkswagen South Africa, indicated last Tuesday.

The automaker announced that it produced 126,463 cars in its South African subsidiary in 2018. For 2019, it is expected to produce 161,900 cars.

In a sluggish economic context, the auto sector (which is the leading branch of the country’s manufacturing sector) could be affected by a crisis that plunged South Africa into recession last year.

Volkswagen signed agreements with numerous African countries and is planning to increase the number of cars exported from the South African subsidiary. 108,000 of the 2019 production should thus be exported.

Let’s note that the auto sector represents 12% of the country’s industrial exports while only 40% of the makers’ production is aimed at meeting the South African market’s demand.

Moutiou Adjibi Nourou