VW Mulls N. American Production for New Crossover

Volkswagen AG hopes to decide by year-end whether to build a new crossover model in North America, says Frank Fischer, CEO of the company's auto plant in Chattanooga, Tenn.

If VW decides to proceed, production could begin as early as 2015, either at the Chattanooga facility or in Mexico, he tells reporters at this week's Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City, Mich.

VW currently sells the compact Tiguan and midsize Touareg crossovers in the U.S., both of which are made in Europe. The brand has been saying for more than two years that it needs another model in that segment to help meet its goal of selling 800,000 vehicles per year in America by 2018.

CEO Martin Winterkorn reportedly told dealers in July that VW is committed to selling a big seven-seat crossover in the U.S. That model is expected to be based on the CrossBlue hybrid concept VW revealed at the Detroit auto show in January.