Volkswagen to invest 300 mln euros to expand Slovak plant

BRATISLAVA, Dec 15 (Reuters) - German carmaker Volkswagen (LSE: 0P6N.L - news) said on Tuesday it would invest 300 million euros ($330.27 million) to expand its Slovak production plant as part of a larger investment plan in the central European country.

The new assembly line making the Porsche Cayenne will be launched in 2017, the company said in an emailed statement.

The investment is the carmaker's third in the country announced this year and part of a 1.5-billion-euro plan announced already. In April it said it would invest 500 million euros for another expansion.

Volkswagen (Other OTC: VLKAF - news) is a major exporter in the country and nearly all of the Slovak factory's production is sent abroad.

Slovakia, the world's biggest per-capita car producer, is also home to Kia and Peugeot Citroen plants and has just signed a deal for a 1.4-billion-euro plant with Jaguar Land Rover.

The country of 5.4 million people is expected to make almost 1 million cars this year, according to the auto industry association.

($1 = 0.9083 euros) (Reporting by Tatiana Jancarikova; editing by Jason Neely)