Volkswagen has setup its new North American Engineering and Planning Center, which centralizes research and development and product planning efforts in the region. The facility joins the company’s North American production, purchasing and sales operation.
The center is currently located in an interim facility less than two miles away from the Volkswagen Chattanooga plant in Tennessee, USA. A new permanent facility is in the developmental stages.
Volkswagen is also currently in the process of establishing a team of highly-skilled engineers in Chattanooga with the goal of hiring 200 new experts by the end of 2016.
With this new entity, Volkswagen hopes to further strengthen its position in the region by reducing vehicle time to market, keeping pricing competitive, shortening product lifecycles, and developing US-specific model variations.
“The implementation of the NA Engineering and Planning Center is a groundbreaking development in Volkswagen’s competitive US market strategy,” said the center’s executive vice president, Dr Matthias Erb (pictured).
“The presence of this one-of-a-kind facility in the American South shows Volkswagen’s commitment to the US customer, dedication to the market and insatiable drive to succeed.”
August 12, 2015
