30. 06. 10. - 14:00

Klima reveals Argentine VW investment initiative

Volkswagen (VW) Argentine boss Viktor Klima unveiled massive investment plans today (Weds).

The Austrian businessman announced VW will invest 126 million Euros in a factory in Córdoba province focusing on gear technologies.

Klima claimed this decision will create thousands of new jobs.

After a meeting with President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, the VW country manager said the goal was to reach a strong rise in export in the upcoming years.

Klima has been heading the German car manufacturer’s branch in the South American country since stepping down as Austrian chancellor in 2000.

The former OMV manager acted as Social Democratic (SPÖ) finance minister before succeeding Franz Vranitzky as chancellor in 1997.

VW has been Austrians’ most popular car brand for many years. It had a market share of 17 per cent in the country in 2009. Around 4.4 million cars were registered overall in Austria last year, up by around two per cent compared to the previous year.

VW’s CFO Hans Dieter Pötsch announced earlier this year that the company has been spending around 600 million Euros on car parts and other purchases in Austria every year.

Pötsch said he was optimistic about business this year after an "extraordinarily difficult 2009".

The Wolfsburg-based firm suffered a 7.6 per cent year on year drop in turnover to 105.2 billion Euros in 2009, while the number of cars sold worldwide soared by 1.3 million to 6.3 million.