Volkswagen to add region headquarters in Chattanooga

Engineering and other support operations add 40 more jobs

Volkswagen plans to open a North American regional headquarters in Chattanooga for operations such as engineering, manufacturing, purchasing and quality, an official says. Johan de Nysschen, chief operating officer at Volkswagen Group’s North American Region, said about 40 people will be stationed in Chattanooga, including himself.

He said Herndon, Virginia, will continue to serve as the overall corporate headquarters location for the region, with sales, marketing and dealer development located there.

But de Nysschen said he expects the new office in Chattanooga to be staffed around the first quarter of next year.

He told journalists in Chattanooga on Monday and Tuesday that he is moving to the city, and he said he has bought a house about 10 minutes away from Volkswagen’s Chattanooga assembly plant

American Region, said sales of the ID.4, which is now assembled in Germany are off to “a good start.” He added that the SUV was the No. 3 best-selling EV in August.

“We’re in desperately short supply,” the region’s COO said about the ID.4 that went on sale in America around March. “We can’t wait for production to come on stream in Chattanooga. The market is poised for an accelerated adopting of EVs.”

He said the ID.4 is “only our opening salvo” in the EV space in America.

“The ID.4 is the first of many EV entries for the VW brand and group,” he said, adding the German automaker is making a $41 billion commitment worldwide on battery-powered vehicles.

Moving toward EVs is good for business and the planet, de Nysschen said.

“You can’t separate environmental concerns and economic issues,” he said.

After the ID.4, de Nysschen said the ID.Buzz is set to arrive in the market. The Buzz, expected to be built in Germany, is a nod to the VW Microbus but is an electric vehicle that will “draw many new entrants.”

The Chattanooga plant also produces the Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport SUVs and the Passat, though assembly of the sedan will end this winter as the market continues to move to crossovers.

De Nysschen said VW is prioritizing the Atlas when it comes to how the company is parceling out semiconductor chips. He said the Atlas family is the fifth best-selling midsize SUV in America.

Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.

STAFF PHOTO BY MIKE PARE New Volkswagen ID.4 electric SUVs are lined up outside the Kinley Hotel in downtown Chattanooga awaiting test drives from journalists visiting the city.

STAFF FILE PHOTO BY MIKE PARE One of the more than 400 robots is shown in the body shop at Volkswagen’s Chattanooga plant. Alexander Faust, the shop’s planning manager, talks about how production of the ID.4 SUV will take place.