Volkswagen Now Building Cars In Chattanooga
Volkswagen is now building cars in Chattanooga, but you can't see or buy them just yet.
The time has come to put robotics, car building equipment and people to the test. Engineers are also making sure all the parts made by so many different companies fit and work together.
The car being built in Chattanooga remains a secret project code named "NMS," for new mid-sized sedan. In a Volkswagen-supplied picture we saw one of the pre series cars covered up in the assembly shop.
"We built the bodies on line, improved accuracy body by body and then we actually built all the vehicles at the assembly plant," President of Volkswagen Chattanooga Operations Don Jackson said.
So far 30 pre series cars have been built resembling an artist's sketch that was released a couple years ago. One of them was shown yesterday in downtown during a tightly secured meeting with 150 suppliers, who we're told were very impressed with what they saw.
The pre series cars were sent to Volkswagen's plant in Pueblo, Mexico to be painted, then shipped to an undisclosed location for road testing in 125 degree heat.
Chairman and CEO of Volkswagen Chattanooga Operations, Frank Fischer, said "we really tried to put the cars at their limits in order to test them and make sure we have an excellent car, excellent quality car."
Fischer said the second round of pre series car building is now beginning with a third round to start in October.
The body and assembly shops have been put to the test and now all hinges on testing the high tech paint shop, said to be the most advanced in the world.
15 months ago none of the buildings were up at Enterprise South. We now have a nearly completed auto assembly plant, a $40-million training center, a supplier park under construction and a new road and interchange connecting I-75.
So far Volkswagen has hired 946 people. Many of them are being trained for auto assembly and quality control. By this time next year about 2,000 people will work at the VW plant.
Even more will work at the massive supplier park, home to six companies. Thursday Volkswagen announced it's latest partner, Wingard, is moving in from California. Their 25 employees will put the wheels and tires together.
Other supplier park businesses include Chattanooga Seating, Faurecia exhaust systems, M-Tek- Interiors, Magna-facia and ThyssenKrupp suspension systems.
"In the supplier park we will have an additional 500 jobs from what we have seen from Volkswagen so far," Fischer said.
Fischer said the veil of secrecy covering the new four-door sedan will be lifted sometime after the first of the year when the company will reveal the still un-named car.
Production for the American car market begins by next summer with plans to make 150,000 cars a year.
