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Vehicles

The Volkswagen Taos, a big idea in small SUVs

More than half of the new vehicles sold in the United States so far this year have been SUVs, a trend that hasn’t been seen in decades. It’s easy to see why; SUVs typically have more space, more capability and often as much performance as their owners can use. And while SUVs have a reputation as larger vehicles, more buyers now want those same attributes in a package that takes up less room. That’s the concept behind the all-new Volkswagen Taos, a new compact SUV that’s smaller than the Tigua

Chattanooga

Volkswagen Chattanooga supplier park marks 10 years of success

Ten years ago last week, Volkswagen opened its 446,400-square-foot supplier park next door to the Chattanooga factory. With a $21 million investment, the site quickly became home to six suppliers supporting 500 jobs helping to assemble the Volkswagen Passat. Today, just as the Chattanooga factory has grown, so has the supplier park and the suppliers nearby. Seven suppliers now work in the supplier park, assembling everything from seats to axles to dashboards, while four more have built facil

Vehicles

On National Name Your Car Day, the history of Volkswagen names

Naming a new model takes a surprising amount of effort. Here are the derivations on some of Volkswagen’s iconic model names, from Atlas to up! and beyond.

History

#TBT: The history of the Beetle’s bud vase

To understand how a small German sedan came to represent the “flower power” generation, maybe it’s because no vehicle was as known for floral displays quite like the Beetle and its dashboard bud vase. The porcelain “blumenvasen” first appeared in the U.S. as an optional dealer accessory in the 1950s. Many of the bud vases were produced by high-end German porcelain manufacturers and could be clipped to the car’s dashboard, speaker grille or windshield. This provided owners with the opportu

Community

Former teacher transforms her Volkswagen Transporter into a mobile bookshop

Melanie Moore had always wanted to open her own bookstore. After retiring from 25 years of teaching, she decided it was time to pursue her dream and get books into the hands of kids who need them most. She was about to sign a lease on a physical storefront when she got cold feet and decided to proceed in a new direction. “I realized that if I had a brick and mortar bookstore, I wouldn’t be able to do the fun part of the business, which is talking [about] books and putting books in people’s

Company

Join us in the electric future, and drive bigger for the planet

Today, we reveal the first electric SUV for Volkswagen in America – the ID.4 EV. While it’s new to you, it’s something we’ve been working on for a few years now, and we’re proud to finally share it with the world. But it’s not just the launch of a car – it’s our biggest step yet on our new path to change the future of driving. Our past has fueled our future and changed the way we operate as a company. It’s made us even more committed to a more sustainable future, one in which we plan to reduc

Vehicles

Meet the Volkswagen ID.4: Finally, an electric SUV for you

Americans’ embrace of the SUV has reached the point where just under half of all vehicles sold new in the United States are some kind of SUV. Meanwhile, despite all the potential benefits of electric vehicles, their costs and lack of choice or availability have kept their numbers low – just over 1 percent of new sales. Today, Volkswagen unveils the SUV that’s meant to bring electric vehicles to the mainstream – the all-new ID.4 electric SUV. It has ample battery range and recharging capabilit

Company

How Volkswagen is helping diverse suppliers find their footing

Automakers may be fierce competitors on the showroom floors and production lines, but in one critical area they share a common goal: working to equip diverse suppliers to help build the future of electric mobility and autonomous cars. The Automotive Industry Group (AIG)—a coalition of industry competitors including Volkswagen Group of America—works to develop and train suppliers in advanced technologies so that minority-, women-, veteran- and LGBTQ+-owned businesses have a chance to compe

Owners

#TBT: Volkswagens tie grandkids to their family legacies

Eric Shoemaker had no real interest in cars. As a designer and entrepreneur, he primarily took an interest in hobbies like woodworking, furniture restoration, and photography. Today, however, he not only owns a business with his wife Amanda that restores air-cooled German engine components, but his website (1967beetle.com) is a go-to resource for tech tips, classifieds, and Volkswagen stories from around the globe. And what he attributes as the catalyst for his newfound passion is a 1967 Bee

Vehicles

A new name in small SUVs from Volkswagen: The Volkswagen Taos

Tiguan, Touareg, even Thing – over the decades, most Volkswagen SUVs have a certain alliteration in their names. On Oct. 13, Volkswagen will reveal an all-new SUV for the small compact space in America, and with it a new name: the Volkswagen Taos. The Volkswagen Taos SUV shares the same name as the New Mexico town of about 6,000 residents that has a rich history and culture. Occupied for more than 1,000 years, the town offers artist colonies that have thrived in the beautiful, mountain-ringed

Company

Why battery power will drive the future of transportation

Chances are you might have at least two lithium-ion batteries on your body right now – one on your wrist, and one in the phone in your pocket. You may have multiple more if you’re holding a car key fob or have a pacemaker or any other electronic device. But do you know how those batteries actually work? For a technology at the heart of modern life, batteries remain something of a mystery. While humans have used batteries for hundreds of years, it’s only within the past decade that the scie

Company

Volkswagen marks National Wildlife Day with Chattanooga preservation efforts

When Volkswagen built the Chattanooga plant, the company pledged to restore nearby wetlands in an effort to help protect local wildlife and preserve the natural environment. In the first several years after the plant’s opening, Volkswagen successfully restored over 40 acres of biodiverse wetland through regular testing, monitoring and studies. Today, the total wetland area spans over 88 acres and is home to 15 endangered animals, hundreds of species of wildlife, including 167 species of b

Community

#TBT: One owner, 42 Volkswagen vehicles, endless memories

You always remember your first car. For Taylor Bryant, that first car – an old Beetle – drew the template of a life-long connection to Volkswagen that has grown to more than 40 vehicles over the years. “I’ve always liked European cars and had a soft spot for Volkswagens,” Bryant said. His affection for VW began as a kid in Charleston, South Carolina. Bryant would ride his bike to the local Volkswagen dealership and admire the latest models while chatting with technicians. Six years lat

Company

RSVP for an EV SUV with a $100 reservation for the Volkswagen ID.4 electric vehicle

In good times or bad, people need their vehicles. Over the past few months, Volkswagen of America has worked with dealers on a new shopping and buying experience so our customers can shop from home. Next month, Volkswagen will unveil its first electric SUV, the ID.4 — and a new system that allows customers to reserve their car. The Volkswagen reservation platform will make its debut on Sept. 23rd, immediately following the reveal of the all-new, zero-tailpipe emission Volkswagen ID.4 electric

Company

#TBT: Sixty-five years later, the beauty of the Karmann Ghia endures

When the Volkswagen Beetle became a hit in America during the ‘50s and ‘60s, it won over buyers for its utility, its frugality and its driving dynamics – not its unusual approach to automobile design. Even Volkswagen ads would later compare it to the Apollo lunar module with the tagline: “It’s ugly but it gets you there.” It would be 1955 before Volkswagen produced its first truly beautiful car, a coupe whose lines were crafted in Italy and essentially hand built in Germany. And 65 years

History

#TBT: The Wedding Beetle: Mexico City’s metal masterpiece

Ever wanted to take a spin in Cinderella’s magical coach? Look no further than the Wedding Beetle, an enchanting white, wrought iron-bodied coachbuilt car from the 1960s. The Wedding Beetle was the creation of Rafael Esparza-Prieto, a talented welder and blacksmith from Mexico City. Esparza-Prieto was reportedly working at a local parts shop in 1968 when his boss asked him to create a one-of-a-kind Beetle shell to display and attract new customers. Using a Beetle as his base, Esparza-P

Vehicles

Everything you wanted to know about EVs (but might be afraid to ask)

The electric revolution will be coming soon to a street near you. The upcoming Volkswagen ID.4 electric SUV is expected to arrive in America in early 2021, part of a worldwide strategy to deliver millions of electric vehicles to help combat global climate change. Electric vehicle owners know the joys of driving and owning a battery-powered model. But for those who are on the fence about whether an electric vehicle may be right for them, Volkswagen has developed this Q&A to tackle everythi

Chattanooga

#TBT: Volkswagen Chattanooga Celebrates 10-Year Anniversary of Volkswagen Academy

In the early 2000s, Volkswagen operated several successful apprenticeship programs in Germany and, because of its success abroad, the company decided to bring it stateside. The apprenticeship program, one of the core programs of the Volkswagen Academy, officially launched with the opening of the Chattanooga Plant in 2010 and has since trained over 100 apprentices. This year, as the program marked its 10th anniversary, 28 apprentices successfully completed the program and transitioned into