Production of VW vehicles is continuing, and increasing, at the Resende plant in the state of Rio de Janeiro under
MAN Latin America, which will also be introducing MAN brand heavy vehicles into the market.
A record 68,000 VW trucks and bus chassis were produced at the plant last year, representing a more than 50% increase in output compared to 2009, when MAN Latin America took over the operation from Volkswagen Truck & Bus.
With almost 30% of the market in Brazil, the Volkswagen brand has been the market leader in trucks over five tons for eight years. Last year, it was also, for the second time, market leader in trucks over 3.5 tons, with a 28.7% share of the market.
With peak production came peak sales. In Brazil, more than 48,600 trucks and 8,700 bus chassis were sold, while a further 8,000 vehicles were exported to other Latin American countries and to Africa.
An innovative industrial management model, known as the Modular Consortium, is in operation at Resende. While MAN Latin America is responsible for the entire VW product development and quality assurance, complete sets of parts are delivered and assembled by eight partner companies, thereby reducing costs, investments, stock levels and production times, while increasing flexibility in the assembly of several models.
Production was boosted by the introduction of a third shift in March 2010. Hundreds of new workers were taken on to raise the capacity to a maximum of 72,000 vehicles per year. A further 400 employees are being hired in order to raise annual production to 82,000 vehicles and to launch vehicles equipped with MAN engines made in Brazil.
MAN Latin America’s achievements at Resende were acknowledged at the Autodata Awards in São Paulo, where it was voted Company of the Year in the automotive industry by readers of the Brazilian trade magazine Autodata. The Volkswagen 24.250 6x4 Constellation truck was declared Truck of the Year, and Roberto Cortes, MAN Latin America's president, was named as Personality of the Year.
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