Tennessee Company to Supply Parts for Volkswagen NMS

Volkswagen’s North American division recently revealed that it has awarded SL America Corporation the contract to supply parts to its new plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The company was contracted to supply automatic shifter assemblies for both the new midsize sedan (NMS), set to begin production in 2011 in Chattanooga, as well as for production in Puebla.

"This is a win-win situation for Volkswagen and SL America," said Thomas Loafman – Director of Purchasing for Volkswagen in Chattanooga, "We identified a world-class supplier for the NMS right here in Tennessee and at the same time were able to integrate them into the Volkswagen family to service our other plants and vehicles."

Both shifters will be manufactured in Tennessee, as SL America is located just 116 miles from Volkswagen's new Chattanooga facility. The company is a former supplier to General Motors’ Saturn brand, until last year, when GM confirmed it will kill Saturn.

"SL America worked very hard to pursue a partnership with Volkswagen, and the NMS was a perfect opportunity to demonstrate our capabilities and show Volkswagen that SL America could be both a viable local and global partner," SL America president, Y.K. Woo, said in a statement released by Volkswagen last week.

The NMS, which is meant to be placed between the VW Jetta and Passat, will reportedly be a Honda Accord & Toyota Camry competitor. The vehicle has been produced as a prototype and is currently in testing in Germany and is set to roll off the Chattanooga production line in mid-2011 for sale that fall as a 2012 model.