Volkswagen would like to further expand its market share in the USA. Vehicles with electric drives are intended to help with this, which is why the battery laboratory in Tennessee is now available.
The VW Group has opened a battery laboratory at its US plant in Chattanooga (Tennessee). Systems for electric cars are to be tested and further developed there, as regional manager Scott Keogh announced.
Volkswagen already operates a similar specialized center in Braunschweig, for example. Activities relating to electric car batteries will also be bundled in Salzgitter – the start of construction for a factory there in July is also planned to produce its own battery cells.
VW’s goal: Locally anchored productions
In the United States, VW CEO Herbert Diess wants to significantly expand market share in the coming years. A higher proportion of vehicles with electric drives should also help here.
The compact SUV ID.4 is expected to be built in Chattanooga from autumn – the model has so far been built in Zwickau and Emden and at two locations in China. The aim is to have production that is as locally anchored as possible in the three major regions of North America, East Asia and Europe. According to the company, 22 million US dollars (20.6 million euros) flow into the battery laboratory in Chattanooga. Parts of the factory there are to be gradually converted to electric car production.
