Volkswagen Celebrates Chattanooga Plant Construction

Instead of ribbons or shovels for a groundbreaking Volkswagen officials decided to do something different Thursday to commemorate the construction of their Chattanooga plant.

They held a wall raising ceremony, a symbolic gesture to cement their commitment to the Tennessee Valley.There was also a daylight fireworks show to highlight the event.

During the ceremonies Volkswagen executives said they believe the timing of their new plant will pay off, with expectations that the current recession will be over by the time they start building cars. Volkswagen remains committed to boosting U.S. sales by three-fold in nine years and passing Toyota by becoming the world's number-one producer by volume.

Part of that strategy includes the Chattanooga plant, which officials say will produce at least 150,000 cars a year. VW plans to make a four-door sedan in Chattanooga but has not released specifics or pictures.

German Ambassador Klause Scharioth gave his take on the symbolism of today's event by saying "we celebrated 20 years ago when the wall came down in Berlin and now I help to put up a wall so that's new for me too."

VW says it wants to boost sales of diesel-powered cars in the U.S. Officials say their Jetta Clean Diesel cars get an average 58 miles per gallon and have more torque that gas engines. The company goal is for up to 30% of cars made in Chattanooga to feature diesel turbo-charged engines despite American's lackluster interest so far in diesel cars. 

"We think it will take time here in the U.S. but we also believe diesel has a significant stake in the future automobile market in the United States," according to Volkswagen Group of America CEO Stefan Jacoby.

Dr. Jochem Heizmann, Director of Worldwide Production for VW's Management Board said "ladies and gentlemen our mission is to bring Volkswagen into the hearts and minds of the American people."