Volkswagen's Mexico Plant Jan-Nov Production Up 17.8% On Year

MEXICO CITY -(Dow Jones)- Production at Volkswagen AG's (VLKAY) plant in Mexico grew 17.8% in the first 11 months of 2007 to 379,988 units, compared with the same period last year, the company said Thursday.

"Our plant is operating at 100% capacity, churning out an average of 1,800 cars per day," said Thomas Karig, vice president of corporate relations, at a news conference.

According to the Mexican Auto Industry Association, or AMIA, Volkswagen's November 2007 production rose 10.5% from the year-ago month to 40,163 units.

Production was led by the Bora, Volkwagen's most popular car in Mexico, of which 192,030 models were produced in January-November.

But what made the difference in the overall year-on-year change were 59,191 models of the new Variant, which Volkswagen began producing earlier this year.

For all of 2007, Karig said Volkswagen expects to surpass 400,000 units but fall short of the record, set in 2000, of 425,000.

He said the auto maker could surpass that record in 2008. The plant's annual capacity is 450,000 units.

According to AMIA numbers, Volkswagen is Mexico's third-largest auto producer, behind Nissan Motor Co. (NSANY) and General Motors Corp. (GM).

No formal plans have been made to increase production capacity, although Karig said the option is being discussed inside the company.

Volkswagen is also considering the future possibility of making armored vehicles at its plant in Mexico - which Karig said has the world's largest market for armored vehicles.

Currently, customers must have armor installed on their cars at specialized shops rather than at the company's production plant.