Staff Photo by Gillian Bolsover - A sign marks the entrance to Enterprise South on Bonny Oaks Drive.

Staff and Wire Report

DOTHAN, Ala. — An official says the Wiregrass area won’t be getting the new Volkswagen plant.

Houston County Commission Chairman Mark Culver said Sunday night he had learned the area had been eliminated from an update sent out by Dothan Area Chamber of Commerce President Matt Parker.

Mr. Culver says he believes the competition for the plant now is between north Alabama and Tennessee.

Other Alabama sites no longer in consideration for a plant in the United States include the Mobile Area and a Black Belt location near Meridian, Mississippi.

Volkswagen said last month it had narrowed its search for a U.S. factory to Alabama, Tennessee and Michigan.

Automotive industry observers have said Chattanooga’s Enterprise South industrial park would make sense for a new plant, which could ultimately build 250,000 vehicles and employ at least 2,000 workers.

The company is expected to make a decision related to the plant this summer.