With Chrysler sales dropping off a cliff, VW hopes to reposition itself as a quasi-American brand and take over the Pentastar’s place in the market. Therefore, production of the “new mid-size sedan”—VW’s Toyota Camry fighter—in its new, $1 billion plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, can’t happen soon enough.
The new mid-size sedan due in 2011 will be larger but less expensive than the current Passat and will emphasize size and value over autobahn breeding. A VW executive in Wolfsburg told us: “U.S. customers look at size and engine displacement. They won’t pay an extra dollar for a Passat over a Camry just because of its finesse and attention to detail.” It is this “size matters” thinking that has the diminutive VW Up in peril. The second vehicle to be produced in Chattanooga—beginning in mid-2011—will be a new medium-size crossover to compete with the Toyota Highlander.
The other parts of VW’s U.S.-specific product assault will be assembled in Mexico. The next Jetta will enter production in late 2010. It will be assembled alongside a smaller four-door sedan based on the new Polo beginning in 2012.
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