JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - German carmaker Volkswagen's South African unit expects to produce a record number of vehicles this year despite a sluggish domestic economy, power outages and looming talks with union members, its managing director said.

Volkswagen Group South Africa manufactured 126,463 vehicles in 2018, but expects to ramp up output to 161,900 vehicles this year with 108,000 destined for export, Thomas Schaefer told journalists late on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Emma Rumney and Joe Bavier; editing by Jason Neely)