Volkswagen announced Friday that it will begin to produce the next-generation Golf at its Volkswagen de México manufacturing facility in Puebla, Mexico. Production of the seventh-generation Golf will commence at the company’s plant in Mexico in the first quarter of 2014.
Localization has become increasingly important in automotive manufacturing as a way to safeguard against currency fluctuations and to be closer to the market in which the manufacturer sells. Golf models made at Volkswagen de México’s plant will be supplied to the North and South American markets.
“The Puebla, Mexico plant offers an excellent economic basis for Volkswagen production operations and is a well-established automotive manufacturing facility with a record of efficiency and high quality,” said Hubert Waltl, member of the Board of Management of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars Brand with responsibility for Production. “With its existing infrastructure, competitive cost structures and free trade agreements, Mexico is the ideal location to produce the Golf for the American market.”
The decision to produce the Golf in Mexico builds on Volkswagen’s strategy for the North American market. Investments of more than $5 billion are planned in the U.S. and Mexico in the next three years, thereby laying the foundation for further growth in the North American market. Key investments are the opening of new plants in Silao, Mexico for the 1.8- and 2.0-liter turbocharged EA888 engines and the planned Audi production facility in San José Chiapa, Mexico.
“Producing the Golf in Puebla, Mexico signals a continued commitment to the North American market and allows Volkswagen to make further strides towards the goal of building more than 75 percent of the cars Volkswagen of America sells in the NAFTA region,” said Jonathan Browning, president, Volkswagen of America, Inc. “For more than 40 years, Puebla has been manufacturing quality Volkswagens for the U.S. and markets around the world and we are thrilled that the next-generation Golf will be added to the production line.”
The Volkswagen Golf, the company’s best-selling vehicle globally, was unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in September 2012. This seventh-generation version of one of the world’s most popular cars offers more features, improved safety, and more performance than the outgoing vehicle and is actually lighter than its predecessor. The Golf’s state-of-the art styling is evolutionary and timeless, and provides clear lineage to previous Golfs. The new Golf design is more sophisticated and longer lived than any other compact in the world. The Golf is slated to go on sale in the United States in the first half of 2014.