VW boss sees bright future

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Marking a year at the company's helm yesterday - having taken over from David Powells - Schaefer said 2015 was a good year, despite a slight decline in vehicle sales.

Dubbed "the people's MD", Schaefer spent his first year in the new position getting to know staff across the company's different levels through his meet-and-greet sessions, often going down to the shop floor to have lunch with workers.

"[Last year] saw us achieve our production targets of 120,000 vehicles with some 53,623 Polos manufactured for South Africans and 66,377 for overseas markets," he said.

Last year, the company injected R4.5-billion into the region's economy, a major confidence boost despite a poor economic outlook. Of that, more than R3-million was for upgrades to the Uitenhage plant in preparation for two new car models to be manufactured by next year.

A further R22-million was allocated for staff training, while about R1.5-billion was to go towards the company's supplier base.

Source: Herald