The chief executive of Volkswagen's Chattanooga factory said today the company plans to honor its commitment for the $600 million expansion at its plant to assemble a new SUV and the facility will support possible hybrid or electric vehicle production.
"Our plan to keep the momentum going has not changed," Christian Koch told a state Senate hearing in Chattanooga. "We intend to honor the [memorandum of understandings] signed with city, Hamilton County and the state.
The CEO said the plant expansion, slated to assemble a new SUV in late 2016, is a vital pillar to VW's future in the United States. The platform that is being built is designed to support a hybrid or electric drive, but no decision has been made yet on whether to produce such a vehicle, he said.
"We look forward to creating even more high-quality jobs in Tennessee," Koch said.
Christian Koch heads Volkswagen's operations in Chattanooga. He is shown outside of the factory where a $900 million expansion is underway.VW is committed to producing vehicles in Tennessee "that make us all proud," he said, citing an earlier statement from VW's world headquarters in Germany also reaffirming the Chattanooga project.
State Sen. Bo Watson, R-Chattanooga, who is chairing the legislative panel, said thousands of families are impacted by VW.
Watson said he sought the hearing because he was concerned about the state's partnership with VW after the company's emissions-rigging scandal was revealed a little more than a month ago. The state, city and county have committed to more than $800 million in incentives to VW for the original plant and its current expansion.
Randy Boyd, commissioner of the state Department of Economic and Community Development, said that he knows there are questions about the state's investment in VW, but the state has received assurances from VW.
"They've said the Chattanooga expansion is critical to North America," Boyd said.
See more in Friday's Times Free Press.