..:: AUTO REPORT AFRICA ::..
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Chairman and Managing Director of Volkswagen Group South Africa (VWSA),Thomas Schäfer, is to head up Volkswagen’s new region, the Sub-Saharan Africa region, as the Volkswagen brand appears to be going headlong with its market expansion programme and regionalisation strategy .
With the creation of the new region, which is the fourth region for the German carmaker, joining the existing regions of North America, South America and China, Volkswagen has followed the footsteps of other leading car makers in establishing the ‘Sub-Saharan Africa’ region to develop and strengthen the African market. Sub-Saharan Africa is a geographical term used to describe the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara.
The establishment of the new region is also considered as the next logical step in the Volkswagen brand’s strategy to position itself in focus areas. Organisational details of the new region , according to Volkswagen, will be unfolded in the coming weeks and sub-Sahara comprises of 49 states with a total population of some 920 million.
Commenting on the reasons for the brand’s engagement in Africa, Schäfer said: “Africa is still one of the blank spots on the Volkswagen map. There is, however, enormous potential in the region to meet the mobility needs of a burgeoning middle class. We will drive forward the development of these new markets in cooperation with various African governments – and gradually strengthen and expand the new Sub-Saharan Africa region.”
The Volkswagen brand currently has three operations in the region: the company has been building cars in South Africa since 1951. Vehicle assembly began in Nigeria in 2015, with assembly in Kenya getting underway in December 2016. In addition, Volkswagen plans to launch an integrated mobility concept in Rwanda at the end of this year. The concept provides for app-based mobility solutions such as car sharing and ride hailing. For this purpose, an environmentally compatible local vehicle production facility is to be established in the capital city Kigali to cover vehicle demand for the integrated mobility concept.
Thomas Schäfer, who will head up the new Sub-Saharan Africa region, is an engineer who began his career with Volkswagen AG in 2012 as Head of Group Production (Foreign plants). Prior to joining Volkswagen, he held senior management posts at Daimler AG in South Africa and Malaysia. Since February 2015, Thomas Schäfer has been heading up the Volkswagen Group South Africa.
