Volkswagen will break ground on Nov. 13 on its $800 million Chattanooga plant expansion to produce electric vehicles, according to the automaker.
The company expects to add 1,000 more workers to the 3,800 already employed at the Chattanooga plant. A new, all-electric SUV is slated to come off the assembly line in 2022.
The new SUV will join the current Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport SUVs and the Passat midsize sedan as production vehicles in Chattanooga.
The Volkswagen Group worldwide is investing about $50 billion in electric vehicles.
"We definitely want to jump in on a market opportunity early," said Scott Keogh, chief executive of Volkswagen Group of America.