Volkswagen's been making a lot of noise about its coming U.S. production plant lately

VW planning 250,000 capacity for U.S. plant






Volkswagen's been making a lot of noise about its coming U.S. production plant lately, and the latest boast is that the factory will have an approximate vehicle output of 250,000 cars. VW expected to begin manufacturing both VW and Audi models beginning in 2010 or 2011, according to a recent report in Automotive News.


A location for the new American factory will reportedly be decided upon in June and will require roughly 1000 to 2000 employees. Scheduled for its first production run will be a newly-developed Passat replacement utilizing the latest VW/Audi modular architecture.

VW's MQB modular technology will be used on vehicles with transversely-mounted engines and can be utilized in the production of around 20 different models in the VW/Audi family. Modular architecture allows for the mixing and matching of transmissions, engines, and other components in similar platform cars.

Cost reduction in using modular architecture is planned on being further supported through the local sourcing of engines and transmissions.

VW plans to begin small with body shops, paint shops, and final assembly lines in the United States. North American capacity at VW's existing Puebla, Mexico plant is quickly reaching its limit of 500,000 units per year.

Source: Automotive News (registration required)