The Volkswagen group is spending EUR3.6bn (US$5bn) in Brazil up to 2018, group production chief Michael Macht said during a visit to the country.
“Brazil is and will remain a cornerstone of our group strategy. “[By 2018, the group will have spent] EUR3.6bn on new products and technologies in Brazil. [The main emphasis] will be on environmentally compatible production at our Brazilian locations,” Macht said.
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Volkswagen do Brasil president Thomas Schmall added: “The investment programme underlines our confidence in the Brazilian market. We are forging ahead with the modernisation of the Volkswagen product range with a view to meeting the requirements of our Brazilian customers even better.”
A key example is the Up which is produced at the Taubaté plant and has been on sale since February. In its segment, the car is claimed to set new safety, performance and fuel economy standards and these will also be key features of the latest Golf which will be produced at the Curitiba plant from 2015.
SENAI vocational training centre
The delegation also toured VW’s SENAI vocational training centre at the Anchieta plant. The Brazilian National Service for Industrial Apprenticeships (SENAI) promotes initial and further vocational training in industry. The automaker cooperates with SENAI on initial and further training and its training model was the first to offer dual vocational training on site and has since set standards in Brazilian industry. Over the past 40 years, more than 6,000 skilled workers have been trained at the facility. Currently, about 60 apprentices complete their training at the centre each year. Twelve instructors provide theoretical and practical training in 19 classrooms and laboratories.
Another key element in the visit was the social programme ‘A Chance to Play’ which was launched in Brazil in January 2013. This joint initiative of the VW group works council and the children’s charity Terres des Hommes is committed to helping children at VW locations throughout the world.
In Brazil, the programme supports 12 social projects near the VW plants assisted by donations made by employees throughout the world. They offer deprived children opportunities for sports, games and learning and therefore provide them with development possibilities.
