Volkswagen South Africa (VWSA) intends to expand its commercial vehicle interests and invest more than R1,2-billion in South Africa over the next three years, the company said in Johannesburg on Monday.
The company’s venture into the bus and truck market in South Africa will see it sell Brazilian-sourced fully built-up buses from August 2005 and semi-knocked-down trucks, also from Brazil, from December 2006.
South Africa will then have the full range of Volkswagen commercial vehicles on sale.
The company intends exporting buses and trucks to right-hand-drive countries in Africa and, later, to Asia.
There will be 13 specialised dealers to support the bus and truck sales, 11 in South Africa and one each in Namibia and Botswana.
The new dealers will be at least 25% black-owned and this is expected to create 400 new jobs in the company’s dealer network and at its Uitenhage plant, VWSA MD Andreas Tostmann told reporters. — Sapa