[mzzyhmd]

Hi,
I wonder when they bring the production to the US, will they be able to maintain the same quality?
Or we the proud owner of the OG German version will always have a leg up on the quality department.
What do you guys think?

 

[Froggy]

I would be reluctant to buy a first year US model but okay with a second or third. As it is we have discovered a few foibles with first year German built and that was nearly a year of experience building the ID# first.

 

[Huey52]

USA robots will be equivalent to German robots.

VW has been manufacturing other models in the USA, and elsewhere in the world, for many years now.

But I wanted an FE or early Pro S for a reason as well .....

 

[ixlr08]

I had a first year Passat TDI from the, at the time, brand new Chattanooga plant. No issues with fit, finish and quality on that vehicle. I would not worry about the quality of a car coming from the TN plant.

 

[Fahrer]

I think there are really two separate issues regarding the building and sales of VW in the NA region. Some of the cars VW builds and sells in NA are specifically designed for this market to larger and cheaper ( build quality and price) than the world market cars. These include vehicles such as the Atlas, Passat and Jetta. Many comment that these models lack the traditional feel of German cars although offering perhaps a better value.

The Golf and GTI were built in Mexico with good quality and retained the handling and comfort combination expected from the world market models but I think VW does not make as much money on the Golf so we will not see it anymore. The GTI ( and Golf R) will be imported form Germany and VW can make money on these in NA because they sell for higher prices.

My expectation is that, aside from startup teething issues, the Tennessee plant should be able to produce an ID.4 exactly the same as the Zwickau sourced car unless VW decides to do things like soften the ride or lower the costs somehow for the NA market. Whether from Germany or the US the ID.4 is a new model and we can expect fewer issues after the first year ( hopefully).

 

[Mike Bouck]

I'm somewhat skeptical about buying a first year model off the US line - not because it's a US car but because of whatever issues (training, factory, etc.) they may inevitably have spinning-up a new line. That said, for the US market in particular, I am somewhat concerned about staffing, etc. - especially if VAG is having to bring a bunch of new hires on. That's because our "bench depth" of skilled labor is much shallower in the US compared to Germany as we don't have the same nationally-mandated focus on apprenticeship. While highly automated there is still a lot of human assembly required. Check out the assembly footage from Zwickau:

 

[BigChief]

I supervised construction safety while the Chattanooga plant was built and the early days of production. Rest assured the same robots, training, machines, and processes that are used in Germany are used here in NA. I’d buy the first ID.4 that rolled off the line in Chattanooga with total confidence.

 

[Mike Bouck]

I supervised construction safety while the Chattanooga plant was built and the early days of production. Rest assured the same robots, training, machines, and processes that are used in Germany are used here in NA. I’d buy the first ID.4 that rolled off the line in Chattanooga with total confidence.

That's encouraging to hear. It would be cool if VAG shows footage of the NA ID.4 line in the future! Especially since the workforce was 70% in favor of unionization in 2015.

 

[bluedanube]

I don't know what the statistics are as far as reported problems. But I had no issues with the Atlas that was built there.

 

[Thenewgirl]

Any good Manufacturing company knows not to produce crap in their car, because it will inevitably be more expensive.
All waste and quality issues are kept in-house.
So, I wouldn't worry about where things are made.

 

[BigChief]

With the exception of the Yugo. Guy walks into an auto parts store and tells the clerk, “I’d like to get a gas cap for my Yugo.” The clerk says “Yeah, that’s a fair trade.”

 

[bluedanube]

With the exception of the Yugo. Guy walks into an auto parts store and tells the clerk, “I’d like to get a gas cap for my Yugo.” The clerk says “Yeah, that’s a fair trade.”

In that respect a Trabant would require 2 gas caps.

 

[ericy]

In that respect a Trabant would require 2 gas caps.

I few years back, I was in Berlin, and people were racing Trabant in a public square near where the old East German government buildings were. They had them painted with racing stripes - the whole business. But they were still Trabant.

 

[sprylo]

I few years back, I was in Berlin, and people were racing Trabant in a public square near where the old East German government buildings were. They had them painted with racing stripes - the whole business. But they were still Trabant.

Coincidentally, the Zwickau-Mosel factory where the ID.4 is built is the successor to the Trabant factory. From Wikipedia:

The Zwickau factory in Mosel (where the Trabant was manufactured) was sold to Volkswagen AG; the rest of the company became HQM Sachsenring GmbH. Volkswagen redeveloped the Zwickau factory into a centre for engine production; it also produces some Volkswagen Golfs and Passats.

The old Trabant factory in Zwickau City (which had been an Horch/Audi/Auto Union factory before WWII) is now the August Horch Museum.

 

[ID.R-Bitte]

Hi,
I wonder when they bring the production to the US, will they be able to maintain the same quality?
Or we the proud owner of the OG German version will always have a leg up on the quality department.
What do you guys think?

If anything the Chattanooga made ID.4 will be more reliable than the German made ID.4. Why? Because some parts will be made in the USA which should help eliminate or lessen the current part content of 46% from China.

For the German made ID.4 the motor and transmission are made in Germany and the total part content from Germany is 39%. I see the motors and transmissions still coming from Germany for the Chattanooga version. The plans are for the batteries for the ID.4 to be made in the USA. There was talk of them being made in Georgia.

I owned a 2013 Passat TDI 6 spd manual that was made in Chattanooga and loved that car. It had a higher American part content than fords and Chevys and was assembled in the USA, not Mexico like most Fords. I had 115k miles on that car when I was forced to sell it back and never had any issues with it, just had the regular maintenance performed.

 

[Mike Bouck]

"Made in China" doesn't mean the same thing it used to. "Made in Japan" used to have the same bad rap until it didn't. The reality is there is good/bad quality in the US just as there is in China or anywhere else these days. My first car was a hand-me-down Dodge Aspen sedan (yes there was an Aspen sedan before Chrysler rebranded it as an SUV). An underpowered "tuna boat" it was a mediocre car at best. At one point I replaced the worn out carpet and when I ripped it up there was a fast food wrapper and chicken bones under this odd protrusion I always wondered about. The line worker carpeted over the remains of their lunch and called it a day. This was a 100% US-made car with 100% US made parts.

 

[mlsstl]

Some years ago the story was you never wanted an American-manufactured car that was made on a Monday or Friday. Supposedly everyone was hung over or pissed at having to come back to work on Mondays. On Fridays, everyone was getting into party mode. An additional explanation was that the more senior, experienced workers were absent, taking a long weekend.

 

[Mike Bouck]

Also - when it comes to China and EVs in particular China is on the leading edge. Especially BYD.

 

[mzzyhmd]

From my experience overall worker skills and experience is better in European factories than here.

Plus the vehicle was originally designed there and rigorously tested during the whole design process using the components that ended up making it to the final version. So my concern is when they move over inevitably they have to source some components locally or from someone else I wonder if the quality of these vendors would be as good.


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[ID.R-Bitte]

Plus the vehicle was originally designed there and rigorously tested during the whole design process using the components that ended up making it to the final version. So my concern is when they move over inevitably they have to source some components locally or from someone else I wonder if the quality of these vendors would be as good.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Volkswagen is having the ID.4 assembled in Germany, China and the USA.
The VW NMS also know as the American Passat was developed in Germany, but assembled in the USA and China because those markets wanted a larger sedan with a lower cost than a German made Passat.

Volkswagen has pulled it off before. Starting up production after Germany also gives Chattanooga the advantage of modifying, fixing and ironing out any “issues” found on the first German made run of the ID.4.