After more than a year of slumping sales in the United States, Volkswagen on Monday made a move to revive its fortunes with the announcement that it would build a new sport utility vehicle and add 2,000 jobs at its plant in Chattanooga, Tenn.

VW opened the factory with much fanfare in 2011, part of an aggressive strategy to sell at least 800,000 vehicles domestically by 2018 as it sought to become the world’s biggest automaker. At first, the strategy seemed to pay off, as the Passat’s sales soared. But since then, VW has cooled, with overall sales down 13 percent through June even as the overall market has risen 4 percent.

Now, to reach its lofty goals, VW will increase production in Chattanooga to make a midsize sport utility vehicle targeted at American consumers. “This vehicle will be a true American car,” said VW’s chairman, Martin Winterkorn, at a news conference in Wolfsburg, Germany. “Big, attractive and with lots of high tech on board.”

The announcement comes after the United Automobile Workers targeted the Chattanooga plant to organize the workers but encountered fierce opposition from political leaders who said the unionization drive jeopardized their efforts to woo the new production line. The new vehicle will be ready by 2016; VW will also open a new research and development center in Chattanooga.