Photo: VW
After a year and a half of speculation, Volkswagen has finally announced what we pretty much already knew. The automkaer confirmed that it will introduce a production version of the 2013 CrossBlue concept for the North American market, and this new model will be built at the Chattanooga assembly plant by the end of 2016 alongside the Volkswagen Passat.
The yet-to-be-named vehicle will be positioned in the popular three-row, mid-size SUV segment competing against vehicles like the Chevrolet Traverse, Kia Sorento and Toyota Highlander, among many others. When introduced at the 2013 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, the CrossBlue was an attractive utility vehicle that had obvious production implications. In concept form, the CrossBlue featured a diesel engine paired with a hybrid-electric drive system, but there has been no word as to what will power this new SUV – although we’re pretty sure VW’s 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder gas engine would be an ideal starting point.
To accommodate the plant’s second vehicle, VW is investing about $900 million in the facility and is giving the 4-year-old building a 538,000-square-foot expansion. There is no word as to when the construction will commence, but when the new SUVs are rolling off the assembly line in a couple years, it will have created an extra 2,000 jobs for the area.
“The Chattanooga-built midsize SUV will allow us to fulfill the wishes of our dealer network, bringing new customers to our showrooms and additional growth for the brand. We are eager to be entering this growing vehicle segment with a world-class, seven-passenger SUV from Volkswagen,” said Michael Horn, President and CEO Volkswagen Group of America.
This new SUV will definitely help VW get closer to its goal of selling 800,000 units annually in the U.S. by 2018. Currently, the VW Touareg competes in this mid-size segment, but unlike the closely related Audi Q7, it doesn’t offer a third row and even if it did, it is still priced well above its target rivals.
As a part of the factory’s addition to build the new SUV, VW will also be adding a new National Research & Development and Planning Center of the Volkswagen Group of America to the Chattanooga campus. This new facility is being created to help VW find out what American customers want and need, and then get these attributes incorporated into vehicles with quicker turnaround.
To accommodate the plant’s second vehicle, VW is investing about $900 million in the facility and is giving the 4-year-old building a 538,000-square-foot expansion. There is no word as to when the construction will commence, but when the new SUVs are rolling off the assembly line in a couple years, it will have created an extra 2,000 jobs for the area.
“The Chattanooga-built midsize SUV will allow us to fulfill the wishes of our dealer network, bringing new customers to our showrooms and additional growth for the brand. We are eager to be entering this growing vehicle segment with a world-class, seven-passenger SUV from Volkswagen,” said Michael Horn, President and CEO Volkswagen Group of America.
This new SUV will definitely help VW get closer to its goal of selling 800,000 units annually in the U.S. by 2018. Currently, the VW Touareg competes in this mid-size segment, but unlike the closely related Audi Q7, it doesn’t offer a third row and even if it did, it is still priced well above its target rivals.
As a part of the factory’s addition to build the new SUV, VW will also be adding a new National Research & Development and Planning Center of the Volkswagen Group of America to the Chattanooga campus. This new facility is being created to help VW find out what American customers want and need, and then get these attributes incorporated into vehicles with quicker turnaround.
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