Volkswagen’s Brazil unit is in final negotiations to export an initial batch of 10,000 Voyage (Gol saloon) models to Iraq to renew the Middle East country’s taxi fleet.
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The Iraqi government’s is estimated to be spending US$120m for this first shipment.
The German automaker’s Brazilian subsidiary is the country’s largest auto exporter. It previously shipped 170,000 first generation Passat models to Iraq from 1983 to 1988.
At that time Iraq traded crude oil for the cars in a deal engineered by Wolfgang Sauer, the legendary executive president of Volkswagen of Brazil. Sauer still lives here and now runs a consulting firm.
Thousands of the old Passats, nicknamed ‘Brasili’ by Iraqis are still running and – some as taxis – are often seen in TV coverage of the war.
Fernando Calmon
