Volkswagen’s Hanover factory has opened newly installed assembly lines to produce the brand’s midsize pickup the Amarok, two years after the vehicle’s launch.
Dr. Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG, said: “Volkswagen has big growth opportunities worldwide in the light commercial vehicles segment. With the start of production in Hanover, the Amarok has finally arrived in Europe.The Amarok ‘made in Hanover’ stands for the production capability of the location and gives additional ongoing impetus to the success story of our Volkswagen pickup.”The plan is to produce approximately 40,000 Amarok in a full production year, for delivery to customers in Eastern and Western Europe and Africa. Production at the Pacheco site in Argentina will be concentrating on deliveries to Latin America and South America in future.
Currently the pre-production is being built on the Amarok assembly line but following the official opening of the new assembly lines it will soon make way for the pilot series. Serial production will commence from the end of June and then 185 Amarok per working day will roll off the Hanover assembly lines.
The Prime Minister of Lower Saxony David McAllister, said:
“It is wonderful that the Amarok is now to be produced in Lower Saxony. This is a good decision for the site at Hanover. The Amarok is the first pickup of its class from a European manufacturer.”
The news was particularly welcomed as the Amarok secures the jobs of many thousands of people, not only on the plant, but also in the region.
Thomas Zwiebler, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles’ Works Council Chairman, said: “Our workforce stands for tradition, experience and flexibility. Thus our employees willingly took on, and successfully mastered, the difficult task of integrating another product into a plant which has had good capacity utilisation since 2011. The team is justifiably proud of what they have achieved and they are looking forward to the Amarok.”
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