Yesterday, Volkswagen held the grand opening of its new $27 million Test Center California (TCC), a research and development facility that is another step in the automaker's strategy for growing the U.S. market. The Southern California facility will be the only Volkswagen Group R&D facility of its kind in North America and will focus on powertrain and systems development, governmental compliance and field quality testing.

The 64,000-square-foot facility has an emissions test lab, a vehicle workshop with more than 16 in-ground lifts as well as a dealer service and training center. It utilizes solar power and numerous other energy-efficient technologies with the goal of being one of the most environmentally-friendly automobile testing labs in the world. It is currently undergoing the "Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design" (LEED) certification process.

Volkswagen will use the facility to support its Audi, Bentley, Bugatti and Porsche brands, as well as its Volkswagen products. The company expects that at least 50 employees will work there full-time and more than 250 engineers will use the facility to complete various testing projects.