The VW logo is seen on the front of one of dozens of new Passats made at the Chattanooga Volkswagen assembly plant parked outside the plant. These cars will be used as demos for testing, internal quality control and press test drives.Volkswagen is ranked 13th among the world’s most profitable companies and had the best showing among automakers, according to Fortune’s Global 500 rankings.
VW’s ranking in 2011 is just ahead of Ford, which came in at 14th. General Motors showed up at 48th, Fortune reported.
This is the first time in at least a decade that more than one carmaker made the top 50 list.
Russian energy company Gazprom was first on the list with profits of $44.4 billion.
Regulators suspend security license
The Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance suspended the license of private security guard Tullis A. Martin of Chattanooga for “unprofessional conduct” last month. Martin, a registered unarmed guard with Private Protective Services, was indicted in March by a Rutherford County grand jury on charges of vandalism, theft and two counts of burglarizing a business. He failed to report his earlier arrest to state regulators.