The company reaffirmed Thursday its plans to produce a newly developed midsize SUV at the plant for sale in the U.S. market.
DETROIT, MI - Rocked by a diesel emission scandal that blew open last month and has already hit the company's financial results, German automaker Volkswagen AG nonetheless said it is committed to an investment at its Chattanooga, Tenn. plant.
The company reaffirmed Thursday its plans to produce a newly developed midsize SUV at the plant for sale in the U.S. market. Production of the seven-passenger SUV there will come with an investment of about $900 million and the creation of about 2,000 new jobs.
There are currently about 2,500 employees at the Chattanooga site.
VW will expand the Chattanooga plant by about 50,000 square feet to ready it for the SUV, which it will start producing near the end of next year.
"The United States continues to be one of the most important markets for Volkswagen, and our commitment to Chattanooga and the state of Tennessee is clear proof of that," Michael Horn, president and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, said in a statement. "The Chattanooga plant is a core part of our strategy in North America. Here and throughout the region, we will work toward meeting the demands of our U.S. customers and regaining their trust in the Volkswagen brand."
Last month Volkswagen admitted to the EPA that it used software in 482,000 of its diesel cars sold in the U.S. to trick emissions tests. The software is in 11 million cars globally.
Related: In emissions scandal, Volkswagen says 11 million cars affected
David Muller is the automotive and business reporter for MLive Media Group in Detroit. Email him at dmuller@mlive.com, follow him on Twitter or find him on Facebook.