Volkswagen Plans New North American Electric Car Plant: NPR

Chief Executive Scott Keogh told reporters on Wednesday that Volkswagen is looking for a new electric vehicle production plant in North America.

"We are 100% in the process of" We will need an electric car factory in North America, "and we are holding these discussions now," Keogh told reporters at the US Auto Show. Los Angeles auto.

Keogh's announcement comes a few days after General Motors announced that it would stop production at five plants in North America, including four in the United States.

The German company plans to introduce an electric vehicle from $ 30,000 to $ 40,000 in 2020, announced the CEO of Volkswagen Group of America. The details of the model are currently under silence.

In order to meet this schedule, the new car will initially be purchased outside the United States prior to the start of production at the new plant, Keogh said.

The CEO also said that an existing plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, would be an option because there is enough room for additional production, reports Reuters. The Passat and Atlas models are currently manufactured there.

Volkswagen, the largest European automaker, announced earlier this month that it would spend nearly $ 50 billion by 2023 as part of an "electric offensive" that will continue the development of electric cars, self-driving technology and other advances.

In 2017, Volkswagen pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire frauds, customs violations and obstruction of justice, and violation of the Clean Air Act under the scandal of fraud on diesel emissions that lasts for a decade. Last year, a senior executive of Volkswagen was sentenced to seven years in prison for his role in the scandal.

"The timing of the market is actually quite perfect," Keogh told reporters. "You must have the following intersection:" Can you reduce costs enough to be able to produce a car at that price, earn enough money, have the technological capabilities that make us a car we would like to market , and have the market acceptance? "

From $ 30,000 to $ 40,000, Volkswagen's electric car could compete with the new $ 35,000 Tesla Model 3 brand. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, said the company plans to produce this cheaper version of Model 3 in 2019; his exit has been postponed several times.

The Volkswagen electric vehicle would also compete with the similarly priced Chevrolet Volt, which General Motors announced at Electrek earlier this week. Society does not totally abandon electricity; In a statement, GM said it would give priority to "investments in its next-generation battery-powered architectures."

President Trump has threatened to suspend the company's grants, which benefited from a nearly 50-billion-dollar government bailout almost ten years ago.