Volkswagen's management will meet tomorrow to refine plans to expand automobile production into the United States. While a final recommendation isn't expected until July 15, Alabama appears to be the front runner (over second-choice Tennessee) to receive the $788 million plant that will initially build the Volkswagen Jetta sedan and an all-new Passat-sized sedan. VW is also rumored to be considering production of a long-wheelbase version of the Volkswagen Tiguan and the Audi's Q5 on our shores. Volkswagen isn't the only German automaker to announce manufacturing expansion in the United States this year. The falling value of the dollar has also encouraged BMW to increase U.S. production in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
[Source: Automotive News, subs. req'd]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Pacman @ Jul 7th 2008 3:15PM
What is Alabama doing so right? Everyone wants to build something down there. Airbus, Hyundai, MB, Honda and now VW. Michigan needs to stop bitching and start learning from Alabama. Hear that giant sucking sound? It is not Mexico, it's is Alabama getting all the new manufacturing jobs!
Good for you Alabama, keep it up.
Eric Liberatore @ Jul 7th 2008 3:22PM
No, that sucking sound is the unions up there trying to get that last few drops of blood before their hosts die.
BlackCanary @ Jul 7th 2008 3:24PM
You forgot Toyota! First Toyota V8 motor built outside of Japan came from Bama!
inteller @ Jul 7th 2008 3:27PM
because Alabama and Tennesee aren't mandatory union states.
Johnny @ Jul 7th 2008 3:32PM
Pacman,
Toyota was very very excited to open up a plant that would have hired 2100 plus another 10000 offshoot jobs in Flint Michigan. Granholm went to Tokyo in a kimono and they loved her.
Then all the brass showed up in Detroit for the ceremony and the UAW put up a huge protest, broke a bunch of windows in the rundown area of flint, started barrel fires. All this scared the daylight out of Toyota and they never came back.
another_one @ Jul 7th 2008 4:39PM
They give massive tax and construction incentives.
(Note: I am an Alabamian) Land is cheaper; southern wages are cheaper; more lax environmental policies, milder seasonal climate changes (compared to the great state of Michigan). Also the available and future infrastructure (aka "empty roads") in the southern states is nice (barring Atlanta). But most is the incentives. Alabama will practically pay companies to build here.
Note: Hyundai had trouble fining enough mentally qualified laborers for it's factor in mid Alabama.
As for the location of the Alabama VW plant. It is in a very tech advanced area of Alabama (Huntsville). I see no lack of qualified applicants. (Geez I might give it a swing).
Oh did I mention the lack of a requirement for the ever present unions.
I would love to land a job at the Toyota plant here.
(I believe there is talk of a Honda plant here as well.)
-xeen
SimbaDogg @ Jul 7th 2008 8:02PM
def good news...i thought i saw someone that brought this up, but it wasn't more than a few months ago that toyota decided to build a plant in canada rather than the south before of less than stellar literacy rates. def good to hear some mftrs willing to stick around in the states
imoore @ Jul 7th 2008 3:21PM
This will be great news for Alabama as well as Tennessee, as it will no doubt get some of the spinoff plants, should VW does indeed to set up shop here. Sorry, Michigan, better luck next time.
BlackCanary @ Jul 7th 2008 3:28PM
Alabama Automotive industry continues to grow. Direct jobs have increased to 48,457 (+8%) up from 44,834 in 2005. The number of plants increased to 285 up from 263 in 2005. Since the first AAMA study was conducted in 2001, Alabama's auto industry has added 21,545 jobs, an 80 percent increase!
Wow, what other state can claim anything similar in any manufacturing field?
imoore @ Jul 7th 2008 3:30PM
Thanks for the encouragement, Pacman. Alabama's Economic Development Agency really puts its energy into attracting new industry in the state. Plus we have governors who make good on their promises to bring automotive and aeronautical jobs to the state if they are elected. If we're lucky, maybe this can beat out college football as the state's number one cash crop.
Parkerman @ Jul 7th 2008 3:54PM
Hah, Highly doubtful on the football part.. =P lol.
RobertaZimmerman @ Jul 7th 2008 3:31PM
I guess VW didn't learn their lesson from their PA fiasco in the 70's. It's not like that company makes top quality cars and they can afford to take chances. The product coming out of Germany & Mexico is marginal at best compared to Japanese products, so they should get their our house in order before setting up a second one in the 'burbs.
Roberta
BlackCanary @ Jul 7th 2008 3:40PM
The VW plant in New Stanton PA closed becsuse of a strong downturn of VW sales (in the US) in the early 80's but more important was the unfavorable currency exchange rates, the plant was closed in 1988 after building a few 1989 model year cars. The plant was open for ten years. Pa also did there best to run them out with taxation.
Pacman @ Jul 7th 2008 3:50PM
VW America only sold 50,000 cars a year by 1990. VW was planning on not even SELLING cars in the US let alone building them here and everything to do with no one wanting to purchase the product. The VW plant was the first no-domestic brand to be produced in a US plant. The New Stanton plant only built the Gulf and while made in the US it was the worst selling of VWs poducts in the US, not that they sold much of anything in the US anyway.
Jared @ Jul 7th 2008 4:14PM
I had a 2000 GTI GLX. The car was a POS. But the quality problems were not due to where it was manufactured (Germany) nor were they do to assembly problems. The issues with that car were due to design problems.
Given the currency rates, VW needs a US plant. They also need to fix their quality problems, but that is a separate issue.
OOMPH! @ Jul 7th 2008 4:26PM
spare us ur VW slander..VW product is with great quality..marginal at best indeed...ur love for all asian product is rather concerning..hyundai until recently,has been pretty synominous with junk...not to mention generic snore autos...
...Das Auto
montoym @ Jul 7th 2008 7:12PM
@ Jared:
You spew this same info on every single VW-related post and it's honestly getting old.
I'm sorry you're so against VW due to one single vehicle you owned from them. You also happened to buy one in probably the worst model year. Had you owned a VW 2yrs prior or 2yrs later, you'd likely have never had anything bad to say about it. As I've mentioned before, the issues you mention(in other posts) affected early Mk4 cars, and virtually all were non-existent by the '02 model year.
As I've mentioned to you in previous posts(and you admit even in this post) the issues you complained about were design-related. Well, any currently available VW(in the US) shares nothing with your Mk4 version(last sold in 2005). They have been completley redesigned from the engines to the chassis. Everything you've complained about previously is different in the Mk5's.
Honestly, I could care less if you ever buy a VW again, but your endless slander(which is now about an 8yr old car btw) is quickly becoming anecdotal and meaningless as more and more new VW's fall into the hands of happy owners.
Jared @ Jul 8th 2008 9:05AM
montoym:
I agree that 2000 was near the worst year for VW. So how is VW's quality now? Still well below average:
http://vwgazette.blogspot.com/2008/06/volkswagen-moves-up-in-quality-survey.html
Sorry, but VW's quality problems are not behind them yet.
Roberta @ Jul 8th 2008 3:11PM
I couldn't agree with you more, Jared. I owned 2 Jettas, the first a real POS - problem after problem. Like a fool, I bought a second one which was quite a bit better, but still full of problems.
I love Oomph's comments, particularly since I don't drive an Asian car! His comments about Hyundai certainly apply to much of VW's products as well.
Roberta
montoym @ Jul 8th 2008 7:37PM
Below average and yet they are still above many other brands which are considered quite reliable. Subaru's are considered quite reliable vehicles(at least where I live). Scion is part of Toyota, shouldn't they be equally as relaible? Also, right above VW is Mazda, also considered quite reliable.
Honda is considered very reliable, yet their own Acura brand is below average. Nissan's own Inifiniti is #2 and yet Nissan finds itself below average as well.
So, again, why does VW deserve such hatred from you when they have made big strides in quality even just over the course of this decade alone? Do you complain as much about other automakers which are equal with or below VW on the Initial Quality Survey? If not, why not? If VW deserves the thrashing you give them, then why don't those brands below them deserve as much or more from you?
Also interesting to note(main reason I love those Initial Quality surveys) that out of all the brands listed, only 3(Porsche, Inifiniti, and Lexus) have fewer than 1 problem per vehicle. The rankings are based on problems per 100 vehicles, so anything over 100 averages out to 1 problem per vehicle or more. So basically, they show that even among the best, no one is perfect and even those at the bottom aren't that bad overall. Auto's sold in the US today are light years ahead of what we were driving even 15yrs ago. It's all about perspective.
For example, look at this news story from 2004 which references the JD Power rankings from 1998. Best story I found with a quick search.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/29/automobiles/29auto.html?ei=5007&en=f4ca3b49eee17d1b&ex=1398571200&partner=USERLAND&pagewanted=all&position=
Quote - "As a group, Japanese brands scored best in the latest survey, averaging 111 problems for each 100 vehicles. Korean brands were next, with 117; European brands had 122; and domestic brands 123. In 1998, the Korean brands were worst, with 272 problems for each 100 vehicles, and European brands best, with 156." -
Note the change since 1998. Korean brands had the worst quality with 272 problems per 100 vehicles, this year's worst, Jeep, managed 167. That same Jeep, at the bottom of the list this year, would have been among the best in 1998 with the top vehicles(Europeans) averaging 156 problems per 100 vehicles.
I guess I just don't hold the same pessimistic view that you do.