Volkswagen's US factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, has reached an early production milestone with the completion of the first assembled metal test body for the upcoming midsize SUV.
This is an early step towards full production scheduled to begin late this year with vehicles due in showrooms in 2017. The test body build was to check calibration of body shop equipment and processes. The body was then passed on for further testing and development.
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Supplier Gestamp said last June it planned to expand its Volkswagen stamped parts supply operation in Chattanooga, adding 500 jobs.
This supplier was to extend its existing factory near the VW assembly plant and build a new stamping factory on the VW site to to accommodate stamping of parts including external metals skin for the new mid-size SUV. Gestamp allocated US$180m to the project that triples its capacity in Chattanooga.
Volkswagen previoulsy uses press shops in several states to provide all the stamped metal parts for the Passat built at Chattanooga. This new expanded partnership was intended to allow all of the external sheet metal stamping and a majority of the structural parts to occur at or near the vehicle plant, greatly reducing the cost of transport.
Gestamp Chattanooga is also using, for the first time hot stamping technology, a process which allows the metal to become lighter, but harder, contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions while improving the occupant's safety inside the car.
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