Germany's Volkswagen Tuesday returned to US production for the first time in decades with a festive plant opening in the southern state of Tennessee, according to dpa. Volkswagen's chairman Martin Winterkorn, who also celebrated his 64th birthday Tuesday, declared that the German car maker was on the path to success in the United States. US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood was on hand for the ceremony in Chattanooga, Tennessee. "The order lists are full," Winterkorn declared as he christened the plant. "This could be a record year for the company in total sales." VW still writes red numbers on US sales because most models are imported at euro prices, making them a high-price reach for US buyers. That should change with the new models rolling off the production line. The Tennessee plant will produce a larger version of the European Passat, and together with the Jetta produced in Mexico is expected to boost US sales to 300,000 this year compared to 257,000 last year. Winterkorn's goal is to sell 800,000 VW models in the US by 2018, in addition to 200,000 of its premium Audi models for a total of 1 million cars. That would be about 6 per cent of the projected US market, VW said.
