Chattanooga Choo Choo – 100,000 VW Atlas SUVs Made

Atlas shrugged at Trump Tariff threats and tantrums.

Volkswagen Chattanooga has achieved a production milestone with the completion of the 100,000th Volkswagen Atlas. This comes as President Trump is – for the moment with his short attention span – targeting very profitable European automakers – such as VW Group Members Audi and Porsche for punitive import tariffs.

The 100,000th SUV is a 2019 Atlas SEL premium, finished in Pacific Blue, with Shetland V-Tex leatherette interior. The Atlas has a 3.6-liter direct-injection VR6 engine, 8-speed automatic transmission.

“Our objective for the Atlas has been to assemble an SUV in America for Americans and we have been very encouraged by the success of the vehicle so far,” said Antonio Pinto, CEO of Volkswagen Chattanooga. “This is just the first of many production milestones we anticipate celebrating for the Atlas.”

For the 2019 model year, the Atlas is available in seven confusing trims levels —S, SE, SE w/ Technology, SE w/ Technology R-Line, SEL, SEL R-Line, and SEL Premium. The Atlas family receives a modest “value alignment,” with driver-assistance and innovation features moving to lower trims. Front Assist, Blind Spot Monitor, and Rear Traffic Alert are now standard on all models. Volkswagen Digital Cockpit—the high-tech configurable instrument cluster—is now standard on SEL models. Translation there is the makings of a crossover SUV pricing war as the market is or is becoming saturated with offerings.

Manufacturer suggested retail pricing for the 2019 Volkswagen Atlas 2.0-liter starts at $30,895 for the S model; 3.6-liter models start at $34,095 for the S 4Motion. The destination charge for all Atlas models is an additional $995.

Volkswagen Chattanooga

The Volkswagen Group of America, Chattanooga Operations, LLC (Volkswagen Chattanooga) manufacturing facility began production in April 2011. Volkswagen Chattanooga currently assembles the virtually sale-proof Volkswagen Passat, a mid-size sedan specifically designed for the North American market, and the Volkswagen Atlas, a mid-size sport utility vehicle which went on sale in May of 2017.

In March 2018, Volkswagen Chattanooga was announced as the future production home of a five-seat SUV (yes, another entry), representing an additional $340 million investment. Volkswagen Chattanooga currently employs approximately 3500 team members. Volkswagen Chattanooga is the first car factory worldwide with a LEED Platinum certification. It is also certified to international standards for energy management (ISO 50001), environmental management (ISO 14001) and quality management (ISO 9001).