Volkswagen Group sets up shop in Chattanooga

 Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. recently announced it will build a U.S. automotive production facility in Chattanooga, Tenn., where it will produce a car designed specifically for the North American consumer and invest $1 billion in the economy.

The announcement is an important element of the company’s overall U.S. strategy of connecting with its customers, increasing its competitiveness and tripling its U.S. customer base in the next decade.

The company will build the facility in the Enterprise South Industrial Park, located 12 miles northeast of downtown Chattanooga. The 1,350-acre site is 100-percent owned by the city of Chattanooga and Hamilton County and is certified as an industrial megasite by the Tennessee Valley Authority. Enterprise South is adjacent to Interstate 75. Initial production capacity for the facility is anticipated to be 150,000 vehicles, including a new midsize sedan designed specifically for the North American market. Production is scheduled to begin in early 2011.

“The U.S. market is an important part of our volume strategy and we are now very resolutely accessing that market,” says Martin Winterkorn, CEO of Volkswagen AG. “Volkswagen will be extremely active there. This plant represents a milestone in Volkswagen’s growth strategy. We will be selling 800,000 Volkswagens in the U.S. by 2018, and this new site will play a key role. This, along with our growth strategy, is a prerequisite for the economic success of the company in the dollar region. We look forward to establishing an important mainstay for ourselves when we become the biggest European carmaker there.”

“This is a significant step forward in achieving our goals in the U.S. market and a clear sign of the Volkswagen Group’s commitment to the North American consumer. Today’s decision is a fundamental part of our new strategic direction in the U.S. and our five-pillar strategy,” says Stefan Jacoby, president and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America. “Chattanooga is an excellent fit for the Volkswagen culture, having an exceptional quality of life and a long manufacturing tradition.”
  
“I couldn’t be more pleased that the spirit of partnership between the state of Tennessee, Volkswagen and the government and business leadership of Chattanooga and Hamilton County has resulted in this significant investment in Enterprise South,” says Matt Kisber, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. “Volkswagen’s investment in this community means the hard work and dedication demonstrated by people at the state and local level to create one of the best business climates in the country is paying off.”
 
 “We started with a vision of transforming an idle Army facility into the source of thousands of family-wage jobs,” said Hamilton County Mayor Claude Ramsey. “Over the last 14 years, I’ve worked with four different city mayors as well as county commissioners, city councilmen and countless others in overcoming barriers and objections to that plan. Today, we stand with our new friends from Volkswagen to make a historic announcement that will create new opportunities for our community for years to come.”
  
With the new plant, Volkswagen is expected to bring about 2,000 direct jobs to the area, and will add a significant number of jobs in related sectors. It is expected that these jobs will come from the tri-state area, pulling from the labor force of Tennessee as well as Georgia and Alabama.

For more information, visit www.volkswagengroupamerica.com.