Tengo unveiled at Volkswagen’s 75th anniversary SA celebration

The new Tengo SUV to be built in South Africa from 2027 was unveiled on Monday night at Volkswagen’s 75 th anniversary celebrations in Gqeberha.

Volkswagen Group Africa announced in 2024 that the small, Polo-based crossover would be built and sold in South Africa from 2027. It is being manufactured at VW’s Kariega plant near Gqeberha in a R4bn investment, and will also be exported to other markets in Africa.

The Tengo will be manufactured alongside the Polo and Polo Vivo at the Kariega factory in the Eastern Cape, following significant plant upgrades. The vehicle shares about three-quarters of its components with the Polo.

In 2025 the car had its global debut in Brazil, where it is called the Tera, but was renamed for South Africa. It slots below the T-Cross in Volkswagen’s global SUV line-up and is expected to offer a more accessible, budget-friendly price point than the T-Cross.

Compared to the Brazilian Tera, the South African version has a redesigned face and more robust suspension for local conditions. It will be sold in three models offering features such as an infotainment display with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and a wireless smartphone charger with cooling.

The Tengo will be launched with a Brazilian-sourced 1.6 l naturally aspirated petrol engine mated to either a five-speed manual transmission or a six-speed automatic.

The first South Africa-built Volkswagen was a Beetle produced in Uitenhage (now Kariega) on August 31 1951. The small industrial town, established in 1804, has been home to Volkswagen for 75 years and the plant has built nearly 40 models, including the Beetle, Kombi, Golf, Audi, Citi Golf, Jetta, Polo and Polo Vivo. More than 4.8-million vehicles have rolled off the production line, of which more than three-million were built for the local market.

The company, renamed Volkswagen Group Africa (VWGA) in 2025 to reflect its plans of expanding across the African continent, is the sole exporter of the Polo worldwide. The plant also builds the best-selling passenger car in South Africa, the Vivo.