Bye, bye Auburn Hills? VW may be moving to the East Coast
Volkswagen may or may not be considering moving its operations, in part or entirely, to the East Coast. Washington D.C. or North Carolina are looking far more favorable to VW than its current digs in Auburn Hills, MI. Perhaps VW management thinks it can kick-start some new enthusiasm inside its US operations by heading to a part of the country where it's more appreciated (VW's assorted brands sell best on the coasts) and making space for new blood by leaving behind those unwilling to relocate. Being in a city with a more cosmopolitan perception may help VW entice employees to sign on for US duty, as well as making VW a big fish in its own pond, versus living in the shadow of the domestic brands in Detroit. More justification for the move could be due to the allure of hanging out in D.C. versus Michigan. That's quite a snub to Auburn Hills, but Michigan residents may get the last laugh, D.C. has a larger crime problem than Auburn Hills. Every time an exec gets mugged, an angel in MI will get its wings. Speculation has been spreading through the company faster than food poisoning on a cruise ship, prompting Audi's US head Johan de Nysschen to blip off an email. In his communication to Audi of America's employees, de Nysschen couldn't really offer specifics to calm people down, but he did go on to say that things will be clearer once new CEO Stefan Jacoby lands on September 1 and initiates a restructuring. There seems to be plenty of desire to not be in Michigan, and in light of de Nysschen's further statement that "reality is not nearly as severe as some of the rumors would suggest," we're eager to see what the next move will be.
[Source: Detroit News]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
EM 11:19AM (8/17/2007)
The reasons could be purely economical. But I'm not sure which economic game VW is playing.
DC has a slightly lower median income that Auburn Hills, and from my understanding Auburn Hills is a relatively nice area, while DC isn't safe after dark (or during the day, for that matter), so what gives.
My vote is east coast if they move, but then again, I'm just a fan of the beach.
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Nick 11:24AM (8/17/2007)
You are on smack if you think Auburn Hills competes with Washington, D.C, crime problem or no.
Also:
States ranked by per capita income
Based on 2000 Census data
1. Connecticut – $28,766
District of Columbia – $28,659
And let me just say that Montgomery County, Maryland and Arlington and Fairfax, Virginia are by no means poor.
EM 11:35AM (8/17/2007)
Having been to neither, I really have little to go on, other than what google and other sources tell me. It was just my commentary on the situation.
But thanks for the intelligent conversation.
compy386 11:39AM (8/17/2007)
Auburn Hills is a pretty nice area. I used to live by there and a good chunk of the auto execs plus all the sports stars live in that area. In fact I used to see Herman Moore all the time in his coffee shop. Not saying the DC area isn't nice too, but with Auburn Hills isn't exactly run down with little culture. Plus the cost of living has to be much lower. Most of my friends out of college make $60k in DC and have to live in basements. In Auburn Hills you can probably afford a small home or at least a nice apartment.
Nick 11:21AM (8/17/2007)
Now let me welcome everybody to the wild, wild west
A state that's untouchable like Elliot Ness.....
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Bill 11:25AM (8/17/2007)
Oh please they're not going to move into the heart of SE
DC. The article said "suburban Washington". Suburban DC is to DC as Auburn Hills is to Detroit. And besides DC proper isn't all that bad these days.
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bonejob 2:24AM (8/19/2007)
"...isn't all that bad these days."?? If your yardstick of comparison is Lagos, Nigeria or Baghdad, Iraq, I suppose.
True... It isn't as bad as it used to be in the days of former (Thank God!) mayor Marion Berry. As the capital city of any Third World country, I would be very favorably impressed with Washington, D.C. But as the capital of MY country, supposedly the richest and most powerful country on earth, it remains an embarrassment.
If the logic behind moving VW's US hq to the coast is to put it in friendlier territory, the best place for VW to relocate would be on the West Coast, not the East, and I suggest Portland, OR. The Portland area is a major distribution hub for VW parts for the Western U.S., so VW already has a corporate presence there. Plus, the West Coast is where VW sells the most cars. Los Angeles, the Bay Area, Portland, Seattle - all these metro areas are CRAWLING with VWs, Audis and Porsches. Seattle in particular has one of the highest market penetrations of European brands in the country.
Portland would be best because compared to the other major west coast metro areas, crime and taxes are low, and real estate is affordable. Public infrastructure - including transportation - is well-developed and efficient and the general quality of life is high, with decent schools, relatively clean air, proximity to the Pacific Ocean, great skiing in the Cascades, boating and fishing, beautiful scenery, active, varied and sophisticated arts scene, a state university, and best of all, the Portland area, including the nearby Willamette Valley, is home to many of the finest microbreweries in the nation as well as an up and coming wine industry. It would be a pretty easy sell for VW to get key people to transfer there and to attract more good people; as big cities go, Portland is a great place to live.
Duncan 1:40PM (8/17/2007)
Median wages are actually higher in DC. While everyone loves to comment on DC's crime rate, it's very doubtful that VW would locate within the city. It would probably locate its offices in Tyson's Corner or Reston. Both of those areas are in Fairfax County, which has about a million residents and only five murders in the first half of this year. Median household incomes are some of the highest in the country in several major DC metro counties.
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Variable 3:06PM (8/17/2007)
I guess you're not counting the white-collar crime eh? With all the lawyers and politicians in that area, it must lead the nation for that...
Tool 11:37AM (8/17/2007)
VW would be smart to move to NJ alongside its German Brethren. Much better talent pool and it might help the company culture to get out of Detroit.
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Variable 3:07PM (8/17/2007)
Much better talent pool? Gimme a break! I suppose if all they want is to hire widget salesmen who don't know cars from washing machines then either coast will do.
All the Germans do is market vehicles in the U.S, so I guess widget salesmen would serve their purposes well. They build few vehicles here (as a percent of total sales) and design even fewer. They've mostly been a parasite on the U.S. auto industry and our economy as they pump a lot more money out of the economy than they put in. I wish they'd move farther than the east coast- like back to Germany- and stop ripping us off with their low-quality, over priced snobmobiles.
Brendan Smith 11:39AM (8/17/2007)
DC is awesome, but moving there makes no sense. Why not move to Long Beach and hire ex-Nissan, ex-Toyota folk? SoCal is the biggest car market; living there reveals a lot about cars and the what kinds of people drive which kinds of cars.
Besides, the cost of everything is driven up by rich government contractors in DC; why not go to Baltimore instead?
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Variable 3:07PM (8/17/2007)
I love it when people use California as the standard for the auto market. Like California is so normal...
Tagg 11:47AM (8/17/2007)
I have lived in the Detroit area my whole life (minus college) and I never even knew VW was here.
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compy386 2:55PM (8/17/2007)
I was at a Super Bowl party in Ann Arbor (UM med school actually). We saw some of the new Chevy commercials and someone asked me if I knew where Chevy's HQs was. Puzzled I responded that it's probably in the Renaissance's Center with the rest of GM's operations (note that GM does have a ton of other facilities around Michigan so I couldn't be sure). The person was surprised to learn that Chevy was part of GM. This goes to prove that you can live your life in South East Michigan and not have a clue about the world around you.
Tagg 7:52PM (8/17/2007)
I just always figured that they would have already been on the east coast with Audi. In fact I don't even see why they are even seperate from one another.
I did my under-grad at UofM in business and then my time away from home was spent in Beijing at Peking University for my masters. You want to see VW's in mass go to Beijing. Every cab , police car and older car are VW's while the government officals drive black Audi A6's.
geo.stewart 11:49AM (8/17/2007)
everyone seems to have missed that off-hand comment "or N. Carolina".
While it may make more sense from a talent pool to go to NJ (along with its German Brethren), NC will offer lower cost of living and lower crime.
Lotus picked Atlanta yrs ago. BMW has its spartanburg plant. I can see VW outside Charlotte pretty easy.
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Mal Fuller 12:00PM (8/17/2007)
Volkswagen's quality problems, dealer attitude problems and image problems won't change a bit due to moving their executive headquarters away from Auburn Hills. A well run company or a poorly run company can be run from any location.
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Variable 3:06PM (8/17/2007)
Oh, but what about their "German engineering"? I'm with you. VW is a crappy company run by German dinosaurs (i.e. Ferdinand Piech) with overpriced, low quality cars. Let me tell you about my Passat sometime...
Galley 12:34PM (8/17/2007)
Audi/BMW is rumored to be building a manufacturing plant just west of Greenville, SC, within 20 miles of BMW's plant, Michelin's North American headquarters and the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research.
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