Volkswagen said it would invest EUR1bn in Latin America and expected to make a profit there in the 2021 financial year, for the first time since the 2013 recession.

The automaker would build the MQB platform based Polo Track at its plant in Taubate, Brazil for sale in 2023.

VW would develop digital business models and expand biofuel research to boost its “transformation into [a] software-oriented provider of sustainable mobility”.

VW CEO Ralf Brandstaetter said: “In Latin America, we have demonstrated that we can be profitable despite a low overall market and challenging conditions. We are now continuing to invest in targeted projects that safeguard Volkswagen’s sustained profitability in future.”

The EUR1bn would be spent over the next five years.

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