Volkswagen opens its 100th plant worldwide in Mexico

Silao, January 17, 2013: Volkswagen has further extended its commitment to industry in North America with the opening of the engine plant in Silao in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato yesterday. The new factory is the Volkswagen Group’s 100th plant worldwide. The factory will supply Volkswagen’s North American vehicle plants in Puebla/Mexico and Chattanooga/USA with modern and fuel-efficient TSI engines produced locally in Silao.

Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft, commented: ‘The Silao factory is the Volkswagen Group’s 100th plant and therefore represents one of the largest and most international production networks in the automotive industry. With this new plant, we are driving our ambitious major North American offensive forward. Over the next three years the Volkswagen Group will be investing more than US$ 5 billion in North America alone. Silao is thus also a strong symbol of our uninterrupted growth trajectory and the Group’s continuing internationalisation.’

Strengthening its market position in North America is an essential component of the Volkswagen Group’s global growth strategy. In this context, the company is planning annual sales of one million vehicles in the USA alone from 2018 based on models such as the Jetta, the Beetle and the new US Passat tailored to the demands of US customers which are produced at the North American plants with a high degree of localisation.

With the start of engine production in Silao, Volkswagen is continuing its success story in Mexico that already spans almost 60 years. Along with the Volkswagen plant in Puebla, the MAN commercial vehicles plant in Querétaro and the planned Audi vehicle plant in San José Chiapa scheduled to begin production in 2016, the Group remains a key growth driver for Mexican industry.

In future, Silao will supply the North American vehicle plants in Puebla und Chattanooga with the latest generation of fuel-efficient TSI engines. The plant is designed for a medium-term annual capacity of 330,000 units. Investment runs at US$ 550 million. Volkswagen will be creating over 700 new jobs at the 60-hectare plant in Silao in the medium term. Further jobs in the region will also be created at suppliers and in the service sector.