Volkswagen hopes to change its fortunes in the US as it announced plans to build a brand new plant in South Carolina, which is scheduled to begin operation in about three years.
And to supply its factory, VW is going to build both an engine and a transmission plant somewhere in North America. Neither Canada or Mexico have been ruled out as potential locations, and Volkswagen USA CEO Stefan Jacoby told the Automotive World Congress that the company needs to localize the plants to be competitive.
VW would like to grow its sales volume in North America to around 800,000 units per year, and a state of-the-art plant in the U.S. will help VW sell vehicles without worrying about fluctuating currencies. Industry experts say three new plants will give VW the volume it needs, and it probably won’t hurt to put a “Made in the USA” sticker on, either.