Volkswagen Opens New Oxnard Engineering Campus

The new expansion will encompass other brand entities that focus on emissions, product testing and governmental compliance.

The Volkswagen Group has just expanded their massive testing facility and is now named the Oxnard Engineering Campus (OEC). The OEC now encompasses the Volkswagen Group Test Center California (TCC) and additional entities. The Oxnard campus supports Volkswagen, Audi, Bentley and Porsche, focusing on powertrain engineering services that support product development, governmental compliance and emissions testing with an enhanced focus on electric vehicle range testing and analysis.

“The next few years are going to be transformative for the Volkswagen Group as we are introducing our first long-range battery electric vehicles,” said Johan de Nysschen, Chief Operating Officer, Volkswagen Group of America. “The campus has been completely upgraded to further support the successful development, design and testing of products that will be sold in this market.”

The original TCC was established in 1990 in Westlake Village, California and serves as the Volkswagen Group’s only emission test laboratory in the U.S. The TCC is also the largest technical center of its kind in the Volkswagen Group outside of Germany.

The expanded OEC now encompasses the TCC, Audi Engineering and Volkswagen Quality teams and the Design Center California (DCC), relocated from its Santa Monica location. The DCC is a dedicated Volkswagen brand studio that develops concepts exclusively for the North American market.

“This expansion strengthens Volkswagen’s testing abilities and product development support for not only the North American region but globally,” said Matthias Barke, Vice President, U.S. Testing, Volkswagen Group of America. “We are equally pleased to bring Design Center California under the same roof as our testing team.”

The new OEC now covers nine acres of space, expanding from 65,000 to 150,000 square feet. The original TCC building located next to the newly developed space still contains the emissions test lab, engineering and prototype fleet operations, the governance team and operations-related employees.

The expansion includes large visitor workshops equipped with lifts, alignment racks and tire service capabilities. A large shipping and receiving area with loading docks has also been added to the new OEC. The facility also features extensive office, training and meeting areas that can accommodate up to 200 people for various test groups.