"The momentum in the American market is significant," said Pablo Di Si, incoming president and chief executive for Volkswagen Group of America, about electric vehicles at a news conference in Toronto.
Di Si made his remarks as Volkswagen Group and Canada penned an agreement to advance the battery supply chain in North America.
Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess and Canada Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry Francois-Philippe Champagne signed the document in the presence of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
"The supply of battery raw materials and the production of precursor and cathode materials with a low carbon footprint will allow for a fast and sustainable ramp-up of battery capacity — a key lever for our growth strategy in North America," Diess said in a statement.
According to VW, the materials are expected to flow into the Chattanooga plant in the future depending on where the automaker decides to produce its planned Scout branded electric pickup and rugged SUVs.
Volkswagen Group plans to form an independent company to design, engineer and manufacture the Scout EVs for the American market, the company said earlier this year. The start of Scout production is planned for 2026 in the United States, according to VW.
Thomas Schmall, Volkswagen Group board of management member for technology, said at the news conference that the new agreement is "a strong pillar, especially for the North American region."
"It's all part of Volkswagen's global strategy," he said.
Schmall also said VW is working on site selection for a battery plant in North America. He said the company expects to make a decision on that plant by the end of the year.
In July, Volkswagen Chattanooga started production of its all-electric ID.4 with plans for the first vehicles to be delivered to dealers in October.
Volkswagen invested $800 million to ready the factory to produce EVs alongside its conventionally powered Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport SUVs, including a battery-pack assembly shop.
The plant also is hiring about 1,200 more employees to meet production levels and go to a third shift, which will put Volkswagen Chattanooga's headcount at more than 5,000.
© 2022 the Chattanooga Times/Free Press (Chattanooga, Tenn.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
