2017 Algeria assembly car/van assembly by VW

Next spring, SOVAC Production SPA will begin production of certain Volkswagen, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, SEAT and ŠKODA brands.

The facility in Reizane, 220 km west of Algiers in Algeria has a daily production capacity of 100 vehicles.

Production will gradually ramp up of the latest Volkswagen Golf, SEAT Ibiza, ŠKODA Octavia and Caddy (from Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles) as assembly begins at Relizane.

Volkswagen Group has just signed a contract for local vehicle assembly in the presence of the Algerian Minister of Industry Abdessellam Bouchouareb, Dr. Josef Baumert, member of the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles board of management responsible for production and logistics, and Andreas Lauenroth, head of foreign production of the Volkswagen brand.

The signatures from VW staff were for a joint venture agreement with Mourad Oulmi, chief executive officer of SOVAC SPA signing for the Algerian company.

"The Volkswagen Group opted for participation in SOVAC Production SPA as we have co-operated successfully with our sales partner SOVAC for many years. For us, this is a logical step towards increasing vehicle sales in Algeria in the long term," said Baumert on the occasion of the contract signing in Algiers.

"For us, local assembly is an effective way of starting production in Algeria. We will be providing targeted training for local employees in quality, production and logistics at the European production facilities of our brands. This will enable us to reach "made in Europe" quality standards in Algeria," said Lauenroth.

A new assembly building is being constructed on a site with an area of 150 hectares in the region of Relizane.

Volkswagen Group holds a minority stake in the joint venture. SOVAC has been a sales partner for the Volkswagen, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Audi, SEAT, ŠKODA and Porsche brands since 2001. The Volkswagen Group dealership network in Algeria includes over 100 facilities with 1,650 employees. In 2015, the Volkswagen Group delivered 30,000 new vehicles to customers through importer SOVAC.