Volkswagen Investing Millions of Euros in New Research Center in California
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A VW plant in Chattanooga, TN
(© picture alliance / dpa)
Germany’s car giant Volkswagen (VW) is continuing to invest in the USA: the VW America group opened up a new research and design center in Oxnard, California – about 100 kilometers northwest of Los Angeles. According to VW, the 64,000 square-meter test center in California cost $27 million (21.7 million euros). VW also said that it had recently invested more than $4 billion (3.2 billion euros) in the US.
The new site is primarily designed for drive train and system development, although it also has an advanced exhaust and air conditioning center where vehicle emissions are examined, even in conditions of up to negative 35 degrees Celsius. The site is also equipped with 2,500 solar panels that should reduce the overall consumption of energy by nearly one-third. The goal is to “make the most environmentally friendly test facility in the world.”
