The Volkswagen Group says it has signed a contract for the assembly of selected group vehicles in Algeria.

The agreement involves a joint venture with sales partner SOVAC, with the VW Group holding a minority stake.

According to the German automaker, the joint venture company SOVAC Production SPA will produce "selected Group models" in the North African country in 2017.

A new assembly building is being constructed on a 150-hectare site in the region of Relizane, some 220 km west of Algiers.

The VW Group says SOVAC Production SPA "will be successively building up production capacity to more than 100 vehicles per day".

It adds that the "latest Group models Volkswagen Golf, Seat Ibiza, Škoda Octavia and the Caddy from Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles will then be assembled at Relizane".

"For us, local assembly is an effective way of starting production in Algeria. We will be providing targeted training for local employees in quality, production and logistics at the European production facilities of our brands. This will enable us to reach 'made in Europe' quality standards in Algeria," said Andreas Lauenroth, head of foreign production of the Volkswagen brand.

In September, Volkswagen announced that it planned to start building the Polo Vivo in Kenya towards the end of 2016.

Original article from Car