The South African dollar – known as the “rand” – is relatively weak at the present moment. That has led automakers like Volkswagen to take a look at how they can take advantage of the cheap currency for the purpose of growing their business.
On that note, according to Bloomberg, Volkswagen is prepared to invest up to $340 million in the country of South Africa for “new products and infrastructure.”
That amount will be broken up into an injection of roughly $230 million into production facilities in the province of Eastern Cape, and another $110 million or so into improving the supply chain by 2017, reports Bloomberg.
Volkswagen – along with other automakers with a manufacturing presence in South Africa – are anticipated to export about 18 percent more vehicles from the country this year, thereby capitalizing on the weakened rand value. That’s according to South Africa’s National Association of Automobile Manufacturers, who also expect a decrease in domestic sales of roughly 2.8 percent through 2015.
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