News 12 Then: Ten years ago we were wondering if Chattanooga could ever land a big auto plant

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) – We’re going back a decade this week as we dig into the News 12 Archives.

In March of 2006, it was becoming obvious that Chattanooga was losing out on another auto plant bid.

Kia would soon announce that they chose West Point, Georgia instead.

So citizens were getting kind of skeptical about whether city leaders would ever recruit “the big one” here.

We get reassurances in this story from Bill Mitchell on March 10,2006.

After this story aired, we would have to wait almost two and a half years before Volkswagen finally announced they would build in Chattanooga.

So Kia Vs VW.. which would be better for the city in the long run?

The Kia plant was delayed a few years because of the economy, but it is doing well now.

Kia vehicles sell better in the U.S than VW’s.

But Volkswagen has come through with a major expansion underway now.

Still, Kia isn’t facing an emissions scandal, either.