Canopies: A vital part of any new bakkie
The ‘kappie’ (canopy) for a ‘bakkie’-industry in South Africa has also had its fair share of change and turmoil over the last two decades.
- Dealer News
- 20 March 2025
After a hiatus of more than two years, the Volkswagen Group of South Africa’s (VWSA) Kariega manufacturing plant has reopened its popular Factory Tours to the public.
The Factory Tours restarted on 21 June and have already welcomed a total of 921 visitors in its first month of operating since it was stopped in 2020 at the start of the pandemic. VW says that it had used the downtime to reinvent the entire tour experience.
In its new form, the tours include a completely reworked script, showcasing the most exciting elements of Volkswagen’s world-class factory, including the production process that combines the efficiency of high-tech robots and the expertise of our production employees.
The tours are led by veteran guide Monwabisi Cekiso, who has been entertaining visitors for 11 years, and Siphokazi Wonci, who joined VWSA in 2021 as a trainee of the YES programme and stayed on to share the Volkswagen story on these tours. All tours are conducted on an open-top Factory Tours train that can accommodate 21 people, with plans to increase the tour capacity soon.
Both the Factory Tours and the Auto Pavilion Museum have been popular experiences among school groups and other visitors.
In 2019, the museum welcomed 34 314 visitors, of whom 12 780 also participated in the FactoryTours. The museum boasts a variety of unique exhibitions, from the Meet the Freaks display, which includes the weird and wonderful elements of Volkswagen’s history, to the 70 Years exhibition with prominent vehicles from Volkswagen’s seven decades in Kariega.
Factory Tours are free of charge and run at 09:00 and 12:00 on weekdays, for visitors aged 8 years or older. To join, visitors can contact the AutoPavilion at 041 994 5941 or autopavilion@vwsa.co.za to book their space.
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