Volkswagen announces multi-billion dollar investment in Brazil

Rio de Janeiro, Nov 9 (IANS) German automaker Volkswagen announced it would invest $2.18 billion in Brazil by 2020, to cover the production of a new family of cars and to prepare the ground for an expected rise in sales across Latin America.

Volkswagen’s head for South America David Powels said the new family of vehicles would be made up of four cars. Furthermore, the investment will cover an overhaul of production at the company’s two factories in Brazil, Xinhua news agency reported.

The German automaker currently holds around 12 per cent of the Brazilian automotive market.

Volkswagen announced it intended to use its factories in both countries to boost its presence across regional markets by three-to-four per cent.

This investment will come as a major boost for the recession-hit Brazilian automotive industry. In October, sales were down 22.3 per cent from 2015.

However, Powels said that he hoped stability would return in 2017 "as there is no possibility for it to get worse this year."