10,000th VW Passat rolls off the line today

photo Volkswagen employees pose in this file photo.

The 10,000th VW Passat produced at the Volkswagen Group of America Chattanooga plant rolled off the assembly line today.

The vehicle -- a white TDI clean diesel with a premium chrome package -- is among thousands of Volkswagen Passats being shipped to dealers this month in preparation for car sales to begin within the next couple of weeks.

"A lot of hard work has gone into this milestone, and I'm very proud of our team for reaching the 10,000 cars produced mark while maintaining high quality," said Frank Fischer, CEO and Chair of Volkswagen Chattanooga. "The ramp-up process is on target for market introduction and our team is really hitting its stride."

The Passat has just earned the coveted Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's (IIHS) TOP SAFETY PICK rating for 2011, the highest possible from the non-profit safety research organization, Fischer said.

The Volkswagen Chattanooga team celebrated building the first customer car on April 18 and the plant officially opened on May 24, 2011.

The 10,000 cars made at the Chattanooga factory so far include pre-series cars, technical training cars, dealer experience cars and customer cars.

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