Volkswagen Breaks Ground on Chattanooga Plant Expansion; Battery Facility Incoming

Volkswagen’s investment into its U.S. manufacturing presence doesn’t end with an expansion of its only domestic assembly plant. The battery packs needed to power a new range of fully electric models will originate at the same site.

The automaker announced the kickoff of construction Wednesday, detailing how it plans to spend its $800 million.

The cash will support the construction of an electric vehicle production facility to supply Americans with future ID.-badged models. It will take the form of a 564,000-square-foot expansion of the existing Chattanooga, Tennessee body shop, in which both gas- and electric-powered models will be built on the same assembly line. Production begins in 2022, by which time the plant’s ranks should expand by 1,000 workers.

Along with the new plant space, VW intends to build a 198,000-square-foot facility tasked with making battery packs.

“This is a big, big moment for this company,” said Volkswagen Group of America CEO Scott Keogh during a splashy kickoff event. “Expanding local production sets the foundation for our sustainable growth in the U.S. Electric vehicles are the future of mobility and Volkswagen will build them for millions, not just millionaires. ”

The first VW electrics to reach U.S. buyers won’t hail from Chattanooga, however. The I.D. Crozz, a compact crossover slated to enter production in Zwickau, Germany late next year or in early 2021, will carry the ID.4 name when it enters U.S. showrooms. The country’s supply will switch to Chattanooga after things get up and running there. Follow-up models are expected.

An electric crossover isn’t the only near-term vehicle bound for the plant. Last month, VW began production of the Atlas Cross Sport, a two-row, sportified version of the Atlas that shares its birthplace with its (slightly) bigger brother and the Passat sedan.

[Image: Volkswagen]