VW also planning engine, transmission plant in the U.S.

Volkswagen has been in a marketing and sales funk here in the U.S. over the past few years, but the German automaker plans to drastically change that in the coming decade. A big part of VW's North American growth plan is a brand new plant in South Carolina (actual plant location has yet to be announced) scheduled to begin operation in about three years time, and to get powertrain supplies to the factory, VW is going to build both an engine and a transmission plant somewhere on this continent. 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 union-less South will help the German automaker sell vehicles without worrying about fluctuating currencies. Building up to three new plants in the States will give VW the volume it needs to succeed, and we're pretty sure the ability to slap "Made in the USA" on the bumper won't hurt much either.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]