(January 17, 2013) SILAO, Mexico — Volkswagen is further extending its commitment to industry in North America with the opening of the engine plant in Silao in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato. The new factory is the Volkswagen Group’s 100th plant worldwide.

The factory will supply Volkswagen’s North American vehicle plants in Puebla/Mexico and Chattanooga, Tenn., with TSI engines.

"The Silao factory is the Volkswagen Group’s 100th plant and therefore represents one of the largest and most international production networks in the automotive industry. With this new plant we are driving our ambitious major North American offensive forward," said Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen.



"Over the next three years the Volkswagen Group will be investing more than five billion dollars in North America alone. Silao is thus also a strong symbol of our uninterrupted growth trajectory and the Group’s continuing internationalization."

Strengthening its market position in North America is an essential component of the Volkswagen Group’s global growth strategy. In this context, the company is planning annual sales of one million vehicles in the USA alone by 2018 based on models such as the Jetta, the Beetle and the new Passat tailored to the demands of U.S. customers which are produced at the North American plants with a high degree of localization.

With the start of engine production in Silao, Volkswagen is continuing its success story in Mexico that already spans almost 60 years. Along with the Volkswagen plant in Puebla, the MAN commercial vehicles plant in Querétaro and the planned Audi vehicle plant in San José Chiapa scheduled to begin production in 2016, the group remains a key growth driver for Mexican industry.

The Silao plant is designed for a medium-term annual capacity of 330,000 units.