When Volkswagen unveiled the long anticipated new mid-size sedan at the Detroit auto show back in January I was somewhat surprised that it kept the Passat name since the new 2012 Passat, you’ll soon be able to only buy in North America, is quite different from the new European Passat.
VW is determined to more than double its sales in this country by 2018 and in order to do this it needs a car that is competitive with the top-selling Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. It’s worth remembering that the US Honda Accord is bigger and subtly different from the Accord sold elsewhere so it’s a natural solution for VW to follow the same strategy with the 2012 Passat by designing a bigger car for Americans and constructing a factory in this country – it’s in Chattanooga where the 2012 Passat is being made.
VW made the decision to build the factory in 2008 and will have spent close to $1 billion by the time the factory is completely finished. Construction started just over two years ago and the first robot started work a year ago, but it’s only now that customer-ready cars are being completed. There were 85,000 applicants for the 2,000 jobs, which shows how important this factory is to the region.
After a walk around tour of the new VW factory yesterday we witnessed first hand how much effort VW is putting into the assembly process with the latest environmentally friendly buildings and state-of-the-art processes. There are also plenty of quality control systems in place.
Watching robots weld body panels and clean their own welding tips at regular intervals is uncanny. As always, it amazes me how reliable cars are considering the incredible complexity involved in their assembly.
Seeing how components, such as seats and bumpers made elsewhere by suppliers, arrive by truck just in time to meet up with cars going down assembly lines is a lesson in logistics. The three different engines for the new Passat come from Mexico, Poland and Germany but are dressed in Chattanooga with wiring and plumbing.
Volkswagen claims that the paint shop is one of the cleanest ones in the world with a filter system that absorbs all excess paint fumes so none gets into the outside environment. The factory walls are insulated and the roofs painted white to reduce cooling costs.
If you ever get the chance to tour a modern car a factory you should take the opportunity. I am often more in awe at the people who design factories than the people who design the cars that are made in them.
Related posts:
- Revealed: The New Volkswagen Touareg
- Volkswagen Unveils Golf Cabrio Concepts
- LA Auto Show: 2012 Volkswagen EOS convertible
Source : Google Reader
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