You may have missed this bit of important news earlier this month – given all the necessary concern over COVID-19, Afghanistan, a local election and other breaking news. But here’s an encouraging development: Combined, Tennessee auto plants will soon make the Volunteer State the biggest state in the Southeast – and No. 3 in the nation – for EV production. That’s electric vehicle production.
Our bet is that we eventually will top that No. 3 ranking in the country.
Why? Because we in Chattanooga and Tennessee already have a rich history and a rich present in electric vehicles.
Our city was an early leader in testing battery-powered vehicles at the electric vehicle test facility TVA built in the late 1970s, and Chattanooga pioneered one of the first electric-powered downtown shuttle systems in the 1980s built in Chattanooga by Advanced Vehicle Systems. CARTA also started one of the state’s first electric vehicle rideshare programs in 2016 to allow drivers to rent battery-powered Nissan Leafs (built in Smyrna, Tennessee,) by the hour.
Add to that, VW is investing $800 million to add a battery-powered small SUV to its lineup of cars made at its Chattanooga assembly plant. And up the road in Spring Hill, Tennessee, GM is spending $2 billion to begin making the Cadillac Lyriq.