Volkswagen Group of America's chief said today the U.S. lost an Audi assembly plant this year because it was less competitive than Mexico, which won the $1 billion investment.
Chattanooga had been seen as a serious contender for the Audi factory.
According to Bloomberg, Jonathan Browning, the top U.S. executive for Europe's biggest carmaker, said in a speech at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., that America "needs to get its house in order" and "restore global confidence in the workings of its political system."
Browning cited the decision to choose Mexico as an example of the U.S. losing to increasing global competition for foreign direct investment. It doesn't make sense for an auto company to build a plant in the U.S. if it plans to export vehicles made there, he said.