(July 16, 2013) CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Today marks the fifth anniversary of the day that civic and government officials gathered with Volkswagen executives at the Hunter Museum in downtown Chattanooga to announce the decision to build an automobile manufacturing facility in this emergent mid-sized Southern city.

Much has happened since that time — the construction of the world’s only LEED Platinum certified factory, the hiring of over 2,500 people with a passion for detail in manufacturing excellence, the introduction of the all-new American Passat, which went on to win the 2012 Motor Trend magazine Car of the Year award, and the full ramp-up of the factory that led to production of more than 150,000 Passats in 2012.

“It’s very gratifying to think back on the past five years and the amazing work that our team members have done to make this project an unqualified success,” said Frank Fischer, CEO and chair of Volkswagen Chattanooga. “But now we’ve reached the end of the beginning and we will move forward into new challenges and new successes,” Fischer said.

A recent University of Tennessee at Knoxville research study showed that Volkswagen Chattanooga had created 12,400 full-time jobs, is responsible for $643.1 million in annual income and has attracted 17 supplier companies to the area. The study also reported that all jobs paid directly by Volkswagen Chattanooga earn on average $50,000 annually, which includes bonus and overtime.

“Since Volkswagen made the bold decision to invest over $1 billion to build Volkswagen Chattanooga, over 250,000 award-winning Passats have been produced and the LEED Platinum certified factory has become a blueprint for Volkswagen manufacturing facilities worldwide,” said Jonathan Browning, president and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America. “We would like to applaud the employees for their commitment and thank the city of Chattanooga and the State of Tennessee for welcoming us with open arms,” Browning said.

This year Volkswagen Chattanooga also opened the largest single solar installation at an automotive manufacturing facility in the United States and the biggest solar installation in the state of Tennessee. The solar park occupies 33 acres and contains 33,600 solar modules to produce 13.1 gigawatt hours of electricity per year -- equivalent to the energy consumed annually by around 1,200 homes in the area.