Thomas Schaefer, CEO of Volkswagen Passenger Cars, highlighted several challenges affecting factory competitiveness and questioned the sustainability of car manufacturing.
Important task
Volkswagen chief executive Thomas Schaefer has expressed concerns about the costs of doing business in South Africa, including high labor costs, blackouts and problems with transport and ports.
Geographically
Schaefer said the South African location is a big deal because it's far from the showroom.
Electric car
Volkswagen has no plans to manufacture electric vehicles (EVs) in South Africa, which could cost a good business in the long run. Schaefer said electric vehicles are now too expensive for many people and exporting them is not good for the environment.
The government needs to do something .
Schaefer called on the South African government to take action to address the issues. He said the government should take measures to address the challenges faced by car manufacturers in Sri Lanka.
Volkswagen has been in South Africa for more than 80 years.In the past, the country was in a highly competitive global car manufacturing market due to high labor costs. However, these advantages are offset by the problems mentioned above.