Kariega production plant is humming and has a new director of operations.
Eastern Cape record for VW
Kariega production plant is humming and has a new director of operations.
Europe ' s largest automaker might be facing incredibly difficult decisions in Germany, but its South African operation recently set a production record.
The Volkswagen Group Africa( VWGA) previously set a monthly production record of 16,670 units in July of last year. In July 2026, VWGA ' s Kariega production facility set a new record, assembling 17,009 vehicles for local dealer network distribution and export.
A breakdown of the record production month for VWGA showed how important exports are for South African automotive OEMs. Of the record volume, 13,490 units were Polos for the local and export markets, while the balance was 3,519 Vivos for South African customers. The challenge for VWGA is what to do beyond the Vivo, which is ageing out of specification. It will not be able to continue as a legacy platform Polo for many years into the future.
Despite analysts warning of the risk of deindustrialisation in the Eastern Cape ' s automotive heartland due to infrastructure issues around Gqeberha, production specialists are still making world-class production happen.
New production boss
This one-month production record achievement comes against the backdrop of Volkswagen ' s 75th anniversary in South Africa, which will be officially celebrated at the end of August. " Setting a record like this close to our anniversary is a reminder of just how far we have come as a company," said Martina Biene, VWGA Chairperson and Managing Director.
Supporting the VWGA vision for its world-class small-car platform plant in Kariega is the announcement of a new production director. Marc Stephan takes over from Ulrich Schwalbe, who led production at Plant Kariega from April 2021 to July 2026. During Schwalbe ' s tenure, the Kariega plant set its all-time annual production record of 167,084 units, in 2024.
Stephan is a deeply experienced production and logistics specialist with more than two decades at Volkswagen. He has worked at some of the automaker ' s most important global assembly plants. Stephan joins VWGA Kariega from Zwickau, where he was head of production for Volkswagen ' s first specialist EV manufacturing facility, building models like the ID. 3, ID. 4, ID. 5, Audi Q4 e-tron, and Cupra Born.
An interesting note about Stephan ' s background is his time in Chattanooga, Tennessee. This means that Stephan understands the importance of bakkies, having worked for years in the American market. The first task for Stephan will be a successful production start and ramp-up for the Tengo, which joins Vivo and Polo as Volkswagen ' s third model in Kariega.
WORDS IN ACTION 4 SEPTEMBER 2026