Volkswagen Group of America said today it will invest $40 million to build a warehouse in Roane County, Tenn., for distributing domestic auto parts for the Chattanooga-made Passat.
The 400,000-square-foot facility is expected to open by spring 2013 and will employ up to 45 people by 2016, the company said in a press release.
The facility near Knoxville will begin as a redistribution center to service warehouses and will later expand to include a parts distribution center, according to VW.
The redistribution master depot will support the U.S., Canada and Mexico, the company said. The parts distribution operation will improve service parts delivery times to over 100 dealers in the surrounding regions, it said.
"This new facility is exemplary of the commitment that Volkswagen Group of America has to meeting the needs of our dealers and our growing customer base," said Rawdon Glover, the company's executive vice president of aftersales, in a statement.
See full story in Wednesday's Times Free Press.