Close your eyes and imagine VW's factory in Puebla, Mexico, which first opened in 1964 in the high altitude dusty hills outside of Mexico City.

Do you imagine the last of the air-cooled Beetles puttering off a ramshackle assembly line? Drunken Mexicans bolting together obsolete cars in third world conditions?

The reality is very different! VW's Puebla factory is totally modern, clean and robot-equipped. It is the LARGEST CAR FACTORY in all of North America! It made 510,041 Volkswagens in 2011 - several times more than Australia's entire output. They make the latest Jetta for export to the US and around the world, as well as the Golf Wagon (sold here) and the new new Beetle.

Other makers like GM, Ford, Chrysler and the Japanese in the US have smaller factories, but more of them. North America has 67 car factories - and Volkswagen's is the biggest.

http://wardsauto.com/plants-amp-production/toyota-honda-vanish-list-north-ame...

YIKES

67 car factories in North America....

that is a lot of factories...

lot of workers too

LEE

Australia in its heyday had a number of car factories also.

Ford and Holden had a factory in each of the states of NSW, QLD, VIC and SA as did VW in Clayton, VIC.

Maybe not 67 factories, but enough for our own local market as well as export to South Africa, NZ and the smaller Pacific Islands.

Quite right, I am old enough to remember the Holden factory at Pagewood (I went on a school excursion there in 1978 to see them making the new VB Commodore), and the Ford Laser factory at Homebush (with the 1930s art deco brick frontage). There was also the BMC factory at Zetland (now redeveloped into housing, and the new Audi HO), and later the Leyland factory at Enfield. All gone. The Chrysler/Mitsubishi factory in Adelaide only closed a few years ago, but Nissan sold the former VW factory in 1992 after losing billions on Australian manufacture. Clayton is now a Linfox depot and industrial subdivision.

I suppose in the 1950s and 1960s Australia had the benefit of large amounts of cheap land, cheap labour (lots of 'new' Australians worked for VW at Clayton), and cheap electricity. All those advantages are gone now, which is why the local motor industry is in danger. While no one wants to see the local GMH, Ford and Toyota plants close, I don't see why our taxes should be used to subsidise them making cars no one wants (eg Falcon). Any assistance should be used to help them make smaller and more efficient cars, small SUVs - these are the big sellers nowadays (Mazda 3 top seller last year). In South Africa the locally-made VW Polo has been the country's biggest selling vehicle for years (and we import them!)

When VW was in difficulties here in the 1960s - locked into the Government Plan A, making 90% local content 1961 Beetles year after year - there was no government assisence for them. VW Australasia went out of business.

And one of the best cars to come out of the Mexican operation is the VW 182 - the RHD Thing .... I love burritos!

Yeah, Volkswagen is a serious player in most markets again... and even moreso in countries where they have a manufacturing presence.

The main thing I love about that wards article tho is its a great example of "How to Lie with Charts" !!!

The chart SHOULD be like this, but it doesn't push their point that VW is killing the others as nicely....