Tennessee production base for Volkswagen
Volkswagen choo-choo-chooses Chattanooga for the location of a new vehicle building plant in the USATennessee is a long way south of traditional car-manufacturing state Michigan. It's probably better known as the birthplace of Davy Crockett ("high on a mountaintop in Tennessee…") and the place where Elvis died -- but it's soon to be known as the American home of Volkswagen.
The German manufacturer, following the lead of other off-shore companies establishing car-building plants in the US, has steered clear of the heavily unionised workforce in the northern state of Michigan.
By 2018, Volkswagen expects to be selling as many as 800,000 vehicles in America, with 150,000 of them emanating from the Tennessee plant, located at Chattanooga. Production will commence there from 2011 and the first vehicle to pass down the line is what Volkswagen describes as a "midsize sedan tailored specifically to the US market".
The start-up cost will be US$1 billion and the new facility will employ around 2000 staff, with further jobs being created within Volkswagen's supply chain.
"This plant represents a milestone in Volkswagen's growth strategy," Volkswagen's CEO, Professor Martin Winterkorn (pictured) was quoted as saying.
"The USA market is an important part of our volume strategy and we are now very resolutely accessing that market. Volkswagen will be extremely active there."
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