Volkswagen’s head of research and development in Chattanooga told the Chattanooga Engineers Club on Monday that VW is entering the prototype testing phase for a new midsize sedan that the automaker will build here.
Ralph Jakobs told members of the engineering group that it takes 46 months to develop a car.
“I and my team will be driving and evaluating those vehicles,” said Mr. Jakobs, who plans to include Volkswagen’s new DSG double-clutch transmission technology in the sedan that will be produced at VW’s plant here beginning in 2011.
For Mr. Jakobs, who paid for a post-secondary education by playing table tennis at the national level, Chattanooga is the latest in a series of high-profile international assignments that have ranged from the Czech Republic to Detroit.
“Chattanooga has a long history in manufacturing, and I’m impressed by the level of education here as well,” Mr. Jakobs said. “Americans are different, by the way they use the vehicles and the way they purchase the vehicles.”