A couple of days ago, some media outlets shared the news that Volkswagen is starting the construction of a new Plant in Balochistan, Pakistan. The news was later confirmed by nationally trusted auto blog, Pakwheels.
According to the news, the construction will start within this quarter, while some claiming that the construction will begin on the 10th of May. According to Pakwheel’s sources, “The plant will be constructed in approximately 2 years”.
It all began in 2018 when the German auto giant Volkswagen AG and Premier Motors limited signed an agreement to manufacture commercial vehicles in Hanover. An investment of $135 million was agreed for the construction of an assembly and production plant in Pakistan.
It is worth mentioning that according to the official website Volkswagen AG is the parent company for Volkswagen, Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, SEAT, SKODA, Ducati, MAN, SCANIA.
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Partnership in Pakistan
Reportedly, the land for this project was acquired in 2019 and the plant was to be fully operational by 2021.
The development comes in the aftermath of ‘category-A Greenfield investment status’ awarded to Karachi-based Premier Motor Limited under its agreement with Volkswagen.
This came as the Auto Policy 2016-2021 has incentivized the competition in the local market and big names are entering the Pakistani market.
The plant is going to be completed over a span of two years and will span over 900,000 square feet. Under the deal, the German brand shall be operating in Partnership with Premier Motors, the company selling Audi in Pakistan for more than 10 years now.
Production in Pakistan
The assembly plant will reportedly have the capacity of producing 28,000 vehicles per annum. According to the original plan, the construction was supposed to begin in 2020, but things got delayed due to the onset of the pandemic.
However, now that the industry is reviving, the construction is to begin soon.
Pakwheels has reported that Volkswagen will produce its famous Amarok truck and Transporter van in Pakistan. The truck would be a competitor of Toyota’s Hilus and Isuzu D-max in the market.
Read More: Volkswagen to enter Pakistani automobile market in 2022
On the other hand, Transporter will compete with the Korean counterparts, the Hyundai Grand Starex and KIA Grand Carnival.