German Car Zone

VW announces U.S. plant

Volkswagen has officially announced that it will build a vehicle production facility in the U.S., although the location of the plant still remains unclear. VW also announced that it will build supporting engine and transmission plants in North America, but these plants will likely be built in Mexico or Canada.

Stefan Jacoby, CEO of Volkswagen Group of America Inc., says the announcement of where the U.S. plant will be located will be announced within the next six months, and Jacoby expects the first vehicles to roll off the U.S. production floor in just over three years.

It has been reported that VW will setup shop in Rocky Mount, North Carolina — where the German automaker has been rumored to have purchased land — although VW has yet to confirm that report.

The new plant should help VW with its goal of selling 800,000 VW vehicles in the U.S. by 2018. It remains unclear which vehicles VW will build here in the U.S.

[Source: LLN]

Ok finally VW may be getting serious about the U.S. market.

The next Golf/Rabbit, Jetta, Tiguan, and Eos should all be built here to lower their prices. All of these vehicles share the same platform and such so it shouldn't be too hard. I'm worry about quality though. My god VW can't afford any slip ups here, their reputation for reliability is already poor. No Mercedes or Nissan like U.S. plant screw ups allowed.

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VW also planning engine, transmission plant in the U.S.

Volkswagen has been in a marketing and sales funk here in the U.S. over the past few years, but the German automaker plans to drastically change that in the coming decade. A big part of VW's North American growth plan is a brand new plant in South Carolina (actual plant location has yet to be announced) scheduled to begin operation in about three years time, and to get powertrain supplies to the factory, VW is going to build both an engine and a transmission plant somewhere on this continent. Neither Canada or Mexico have been ruled out as potential locations, and Volkswagen USA CEO Stefan Jacoby told the Automotive World Congress that the company needs to localize the plants to be competitive.

VW would like to grow its sales volume in North America to around 800,000 units per year, and a state of-the-art plant in the union-less South will help the German automaker sell vehicles without worrying about fluctuating currencies. Building up to three new plants in the States will give VW the volume it needs to succeed, and we're pretty sure the ability to slap "Made in the USA" on the bumper won't hurt much either.

[Source: Automotive News via Autoblog]

VW narrows potential new plant to 3 states

By KEN THOMAS

WASHINGTON
Volkswagen AG said Wednesday it has narrowed its list of states competing for a potential U.S. production facility to Alabama, Michigan and Tennessee.
The German automaker said it was still evaluating whether to build a new plant in the United States and would make a final decision this summer.
"We reviewed many excellent sites and the process to narrow down the locations was not an easy one. We look forward to continuing to work with the states of Alabama, Michigan, and Tennessee as the evaluation moves forward," said Stefan Jacoby, Volkswagen Group of America's president and chief executive.

Jacoby said the automaker was evaluating cost, logistics, site readiness and operational considerations as it looks at the three states.

Volkswagen officials have said the surging euro has pushed plans for a new production facility forward. The 15-nation currency has been hitting record highs in recent weeks against the U.S. dollar, making goods exported from Germany more expensive in the United States.

Volkswagen spokeswoman Jill Bratina said the value of the euro was "certainly a consideration in the process." She said the company was not commenting on any particular site in the states.

If Volkswagen decides to open a plant, the company is expected to start building cars within the next two years and initially produce 100,000 to 150,000 vehicles annually with a maximum capacity of 250,000 vehicles.
Company officials have said the first vehicle would likely be a replacement for the Passat passenger car designed for the U.S. market.

States compete feverishly for new automotive plants, which can inject thousands of jobs and economic activity into their local economies. Toyota Motor Corp.'s plant in San Antonio, Texas, for example, which opened in late 2006, generated 2,000 jobs along with 21 onsite suppliers bringing additional employment.

Automotive analysts said the final location would rest upon a number of factors, including incentives offered by the states and their pool of skilled workers.

"What we've seen in the past is there is no golden mixture that seems to be a guarantee for a win," said Catherine Madden, an auto analyst with the consulting firm Global Insight.

All three of the contenders have a significant auto industry presence. Michigan has been the longtime center of the U.S. auto industry, home to General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC.

Southern states have grown in their importance to the industry. Alabama has assembly plants for Daimler AG, Honda Motor Co. and Hyundai Motor Co. Tennessee, meanwhile, has Nissan Motor Co.'s North American headquarters outside Nashville and plants in Smyrna and Decherd. GM operates an assembly plant in Spring Hill, Tenn.

Toyota considered a 1,600-acre site in Chattanooga, Tenn., last year for a $1.3 billion assembly plant but chose a site near Tupelo, Miss. The Enterprise South site was also a contender a year earlier for a $1.2 billion Kia Motors Corp. plant, but the South Korean automaker instead chose to build the plant in West Point, Ga.

Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce spokesman J.Ed. Marston declined to comment when asked about any contact with Volkswagen or any interest in the Enterprise South site.

State officials also were mum on a potential VW plant. Liz Boyd, a spokeswoman for Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, would not comment on the report but said the governor was "working hard to grow our economy and create jobs here."

Jeff Emerson, a spokesman for Alabama Gov. Bob Riley, said the state was "very honored" to be a finalist but declined further comment. A spokesman for Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen said he could not immediately respond to the announcement.

Wolfsburg, Germany-based Volkswagen is the world's fourth-largest automaker and has outlined plans to significantly boost its presence in the U.S., where it holds only 2 percent of the market. Earlier this year, Jacoby said the automaker hopes to more than triple its U.S. sales by 2018 to 1 million.

Volkswagen recently moved its North American headquarters from suburban Detroit to Herndon, Va., outside Washington, to bring it closer to its East Coast customer base.

Volkswagen produces VW cars and trucks and also makes vehicles under the Audi, Skoda, Seat, Lamborghini, Bentley and Bugatti names.
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Associated Press writers Bill Poovey in Chattanooga, Tenn., and Bob Johnson in Montgomery, Ala., contributed to this report.
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On the Net:
Volkswagen of America: http://www.vw.com

From: VW narrows potential new plant to 3 states


Looks like Volkswagen has big plans. Maybe the Mercedes plant in Alabama will have a VW neighbor...

I was pissed when Omaha, NE blew it with their chance at getting the BMW plant that eventually went to SC, then again with KIA, then Toyota, and from what I've heard they had a chance at landing this VW plant as well and blew it. SO much potential for jobs and economic boost lost because of local politicians with their priorities in the wrong place.

VW Group to Make Final Decision on U.S. Plant this July



For the first time the VW Group has set a specific timetable to decide whether or not it will create a U.S. plant in order to offset the impact of the weak dollar. According to an interview that VW Group’s CEO, Martin Winterkorn gave to German newspaper Handelsblatt, the final decision will be made before the company’s mid-July meeting.

Winterkorn also told Handelsblatt that the VW Group has made up a list of three U.S. States that qualify for the new plant: Alabama, Michigan and Tennessee. If VW's U.S. plans gets the green light, apart from VWs, the plant will also build Audi and quite possibly, Porsche models.


Source: VW Group to Make Final Decision on U.S. Plant this July | Carscoop

Well Michigan is out, it will be either Alabama or Tennessee.

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New US Volkswagen Plant May Build Cayenne



Volkswagen has set some high goals and intends to reach them, in part, with a new production plant in the United States. German newspaper Handelsblatt reported today that the 150,000 unit plant may produce, besides a new VW Jetta and an all-new Passat-sized sedan, the Touareg, Q7 or Cayenne who all share the same platform. VW spokesman Andreas Meurer told Automotive News that "when we discuss whether to build the [VW] Touareg and [Audi] Q7 in the USA, we also talk about the Cayenne."
Other Audi models may also be build at the new plant along side the Volkswagen models. Volkswagen plans two US specific models, a larger Jetta codenamed NCS (New Compact Sedan) which doubles as a precursor for the next generation Jetta, and an entry-level Passat codenamed NMS (New Medium Sedan).

The new facility will be built in either Alabama, Tennesee or Michigan. The final decision will be taken mid-July by Volkswagen where the second, the first is in Puebla, Mexico, North American plant will be based. Volkswagen hopes to sell 800,000 annually in the US by 2018 so this new plant is an absolute necessity especially now that the Euro is so strong versus the US dollar.


Source - WCF: New US Volkswagen Plant May Build Cayenne

Porsche Says Nein to U.S. Production of Cayenne



Porsche officials have denied media reports concerning the production of its current generation Cayenne SUV in North America in the event that the VW Group goes ahead and builds a new U.S. factory. The German sports carmaker’s spokesman Albrecht Bamler told Automotive news that it would not make an economical sense to build the Cayenne in the U.S. because suppliers that provide components for the liuxury SUV are located in Europe.

Balmer also noted that his company is covered from the financial effects of the weak dollar through currency hedging until 2013. As for the next generation Cayenne which was also reported to be built in the U.S., Balmer said that the launch of the new generation SUV is way too far in the future for him to comment on.