Volkswagen has announced that it will build a U.S. automotive production facility in Chattanooga, Tenn., where it will produce a car designed specifically for the North American market.
The announcement is part of Volkswagen’s plan to triple its U.S. customer base over the next decade. The company plans to invest approximately $1 billion in the new facility, which will be built in the Enterprise South Industrial Park, located 12 miles northeast of downtown Chattanooga and adjacent to I-75. The 1,350-acre site is 100 percent owned by the city of Chattanooga and Hamilton County and is certified as an industrial mega-site by the Tennessee Valley Authority.
Initial production capacity for the facility is anticipated to be 150,000 vehicles. Production is scheduled to begin in early 2011.
With the new plant, Volkswagen will 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 pull from the labor force of Georgia and Alabama, as well as Tennessee.
Volkswagen Group of America Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, the world’s fourth-largest automaker and the largest carmaker in Europe. It houses the U.S. operations of a worldwide family of brands that include Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini and Volkswagen. The company is headquartered in Herndon, Va., and has approximately 2,500 employees in the United States.
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