Volkswagen revealed a long-kept secret at the Detroit Auto Show 2011: The Wolfsburg-based company presented the new Passat. The sedan is to be sold exclusively in North America. The new Passat will be produced at the newly built Chattanooga/Tennessee plant, the first VW factory in the USA.

At the presentation of the new Passat in Detroit, VW Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn invited the ten most important suppliers to join him on stage. Steffen Schmidt, Management Board spokesman, (front row, 3rd from left) represented ThyssenKrupp Automotive Systems. "We were awarded the order in the crisis year 2008/2009. Our ability to exploit synergies with our location in Puebla, Mexico, helped us as we also assemble axle systems for Volkswagen there. In addition, we were able to rely on support from within the Group: ThyssenKrupp System Engineering installed our assembly lines in Chattanooga. Cooperation went smoothly."

The VW supplier park is also located on the site of the plant. ThyssenKrupp Automotive Systems of America assembles the front and rear axle systems for the new Passat here and delivers them just-in-sequence to the VW assembly lines.

The ramp-up of production at the Chattanooga plant began on January 17, 2011 and is being taken slowly to ensure the highest possible quality. From June 2011, the 80 employees - including Clee Jackson (top) and Walter Walton - of ThyssenKrupp Automotive Systems of America will produce axle systems for up to 150,000 vehicles per year in two shifts under the management of Christophe Flauder.