Photo by Brenda Priddy & Company - A new car, believed to be the new Volkswagen midsized sedan (NMS) is seen in the Mojave Desert. The sedan is expected to be built at Volkswagen's yet-to-be-completed North American plant in Chattanooga.
Photo by Brenda Priddy & Company - A new car, believed to be the new Volkswagen midsized sedan (NMS) is seen in the Mojave Desert. The sedan is expected to be built at Volkswagen's yet-to-be-completed North American plant in Chattanooga.
Photo by Brenda Priddy & Company - A new car, believed to be the new Volkswagen Mid-Sized Sedan (NMS) is seen in the Mojave Desert. The sedan is expected to be built at Volkswagen's yet-to-be-completed North American plant in Chattanooga.Volkswagen, already building the early test versions of the new midsize sedan it will make in Chattanooga, is putting the vehicle through its paces, according to officials.
The car is undergoing on-the-road trials to make improvements to the vehicle, which will be produced for sale early next year, the automaker says.
Frank Fischer, who heads VW's Chattanooga operations, said the car maker has gotten "a lot of positive feedback" so far about the sedan, including from a group of executives representing suppliers who saw the auto in person last week.
"There's a lot of hard work ahead," he said. "We're facing many challenges."
Volkswagen is building a $1 billion plant at Enterprise South industrial park. While plant construction proceeds, workers have been assembling early versions of the sedan, officials said.
The car is designed for American motorists and to compete with big sellers in its class such as the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord, according to VW. The price also is slated to be comparable with the other sedans.
The Chattanooga plant is expected to have capacity to produce 150,000 vehicles a year and employ over 2,000 people when it's fully ramped up.