Chattanooga Volkswagen Employees See the Atlas SUV They Will Build

Last week in California, Volkswagen unveiled its newest model–the Atlas SUV .

This morning the people who actually built that vehicle got their first look at the finished product here in Chattanooga.

Now, a close look at the car Volkswagen calls “the future” of the company in the U.S.

HINRICH WOEBCKEN, CEO, VOLKSWAGEN OF NORTH AMERICA ” It marks the start of a great new journey for Volkswagen in the United States. We have invested an additional 900-million dollars in the factory to produce this SUV. “

The 7 passenger Atlas will be built at Enterprise South plant beginning early next year.

The team that built the proto-type gets to see the final product during a team meeting.

SCOTT WILSON, COMMUNICATIONS, VOLKSWAGEN IN CHATTANOOGA “It might seem odd to have an unveiling for employees, but if you work in the body shop, you – you only see that as raw metal welded into the shape of a car. Then it goes over to paint, and in paint shop, you paint that metal, but you don’t see when the dashboard and the seats and the carpet and everything is installed so, it’s really so everyone can see the car as it is fully built.”

The car they will build will be the 2018 model–getting a head start on demand.

SCOTT WILSON “We have to build enough cars to fill the entire dealer pipeline. So, that will happen by around April. Possibly May. So, no, not by the beginning of the year..but by spring we’ll have enough cars built that the dealers, all at the same time, begin sales.”

The Atlas expands the Volkswagen line at a time when cheap gasoline is encouraging automakers to build larger vehicles, especially SUVs.

The Chattanooga area is already feeling the economic impact as V-W finds and hires the new team members.

SCOTT WILSON “We’re in the middle of hiring 1100 people to accommodate the Atlas, um, to be added to our line..so that’s pretty good news for the area.”

Pricing of the Atlas will not be set until closer to launch date.

Even as it offers that big new SUV, Volkswagen says it is still looking to build electric cars and other fuel-efficient vehicles.

The automaker says it will have 30 electrified models by 2025.