Volkswagen to spend $800 million to build new electric vehicle in U.S.

Volkswagen AG stated on Monday it was spending $800 million to build a new electric vehicle at its plant located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and scheduled a briefing with Ford Motor for Tuesday on their efforts to forge a worldwide alliance.

The German automaker stated in an announcement at the Detroit Auto Show that it was adding 1,000 jobs at the Chattanooga plant and that electric vehicle production there would start in 2022.

Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess stated the company was thinking about building luxury Audi vehicles in the United States but that no choice had been made.

German automakers have been under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to boost their investments in the United States. Diess and counterparts from German automakers BMW and Daimler met with Trump at the White House in December to prompt the administration not to go through with a threat to slap tariffs on European cars.

The Tennessee investment “is a signal to the government that we are really committed to the United States,” Diess informed reporters at the auto show.

Ford and Volkswagen said on Monday they would hold a joint conference call on Tuesday to give an update on the companies’ continued discussions regarding a global alliance.