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Celebrating production of 500,000th Polo at SA‘s Kariega Plant
The Star
|October 23, 2025
WITH the South African motor manufacturing industry under increasing pressure as a result of the influx of cars from China and India, tariff wars, the change to New Energy Vehicles and steel challenges, to name a few, it’s heartening to see that the Volkswagen plant in Kariega has announced that the 500 000th unit of the Polo has rolled off the assembly line.
The half-millionth facelift Polo, a Kings Red Polo, is bound for the brand’s home country of Germany.
Sole exporter
Plant Kariega has been building Polos since 1996, and the current facelift version since August 2021.
Since July 2024, the plant has also been the sole exporter of the Polo for the Europe and Asia-Pacific markets, exporting it to more than 30 countries in addition to its strong presence in the South African market.
This story is from the October 23, 2025 edition of The Star.
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