The Volkswagen Polo made it two in the row for local car manufacturer, Volkswagen Group South Africa, when the 77KW Volkswagen Polo 1.6 Comfortline TDi was announced as the joint winner, together with the BMW 530d, of the 2011 South African Car of the Year, at a gala dinner in Midrand on Tuesday, 8 March. Golf was crowned as the 2010 SA Car of the Year.
“Volkswagen Group South Africa is delighted to have the new Polo named as the winner of the 2011 South African Car of the Year. This is an immense recognition of the Volkswagen Brand following Golf’s win in 2010,” said David Powels, Managing Director, Volkswagen Group South Africa.
“We would like to dedicate this accolade to our employees at the Uitenhage plant where the Polo is produced for local and international markets. Their commitment to producing world class quality vehicles has been acknowledged by the South African Guild of Motoring Journalists,” added Powels.
The 2011 South African Car of the Year award is one of the many achievements that have been bestowed on the new Volkswagen Polo. In 2010, the Volkswagen Polo was named as the European Car of the Year, World Car of the Year and Japanese Import Car of the Year.
Volkswagen Polo is manufactured at the Volkswagen Group South Africa production plant in Uitenhage for the local market as well as for export to global right-hand drive markets such as Japan, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, Malta and Cyprus. Uitenhage is the sole production site for the right-hand drive five-door Volkswagen Polo.
Bodo Donauer, Managing Director of BMW South Africa, said “An award of this nature represents the highest possible praise from the most experienced car critics in the country. I am extremely proud to accept this award on behalf of BMW South Africa. However, it is an award that belongs to the incredible designers, engineers and inventors that work for BMW now, and that have worked for BMW over the years.”
“I would like to thank the South African Guild of Motoring Journalists and all of the sponsors for making the competition possible. But most importantly, I would like to thank all of the jury members for recognising the BMW 530d as the 2011 South African Car of the Year,” Donauer concluded.
The BMW 5 Series is also a contender for the overall 2011 World Car of the Year title. The winners will be announced at the New York International Auto Show on April 21.
Alan Straton
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Great news for our local factory – well done VWSA!