© 2024 WUTC
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Volkswagen: Production of 2016 Chattanooga Passat Already Underway

  

  The timing was unfortunate, to say the least.  Amid the scandal that Volkswagen allegedly rigged 11 million carsto cheat emissions testing, VW unveiled the new 2016 Passat at an auto show in New York.  Revelations about the scandal have caused CEO Martin Winterkorn to resign and have overshadowed the fanfare that the 2016 Passat's unveiling might have generated.

And what does the scandal mean for Chattanooga's Volkswagen assembly plant, where 2016 Passats will be built?

"Production has started," a VW spokesperson said in an email.  "Volkswagen is committed to the U.S. market and to its investment in the state of Tennessee."

I was also curious about TDI diesel engines, which are the type of engines Volkswagen allegedly tweaked with special software to fool emissions tests.  Volkswagen claimed that the company's TDI Clean Diesel engines featured "extreme efficiency" and that the company had "ushered in a new era" of diesel.

"Efficiency isn’t just a word.  It’s our philosophy," the company said on a marketing Web page that has now been deleted from vw.com.  "Our commitment to making vehicles that are eco-conscious is part of bigger thinking."  

VW manufactures TDI diesel versions of the Golf, Jetta, Beetle, Touareg, and the Passat.

But what does TDI actually stand for?

"TDI is a trademark, so does not actually stand for anything," a company spokesperson said in an email.

In August, 26.9% of Passat sales were TDI, which means that about a quarter of all Passats sold that month are affected by the software issue.  A recall is expected.