VW’s plans to build its first manufacturing plant in the U.S. are proceeding, and the latest reports have Europe’s biggest automaker no longer considering Michigan as one of the possible locations. VW also said it would name the location for the new plant on July 8, but the decision seems to have been postponed until July 15th.
Michigan fell by the wayside due to its economic difficulties as well as the dominance of the big three North American automakers, says a Detroit News report. This leaves the other nominees, Tennessee and Alabama, to fight it out for the plant.
Previously, VW said one of Michigan’s strongest selling points was the readily available skilled workforce, and the official word is that all three states are still under consideration.
A U.S.-based plant would help VW’s profits as the current Euro-to-dollar conversion is unfavorable for importing vehicles built in Germany. At the same time, it would help meet its goal of tripling annual sales volume in the U.S. to 1 million units by 2018.
