- Supervisory Board welcomes plans for Audi plant in Mexico
- Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Board of Management of AUDI AG: “Excellent basis for sustainable growth”
The decision has been made: AUDI AG Board of Management and Supervisory Board of AUDI AG approved plans to build a North American plant in Mexico. The exact location for the new plant, which will manufacture an SUV model starting in 2016, will be chosen by AUDI AG later this year.
“As an established carmaking location, Mexico offers an excellent economic basis for Audi production operations,” declared Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Board of Management of AUDI AG. Mexico is one of the world’s top ten automotive locations and offers a blend of tradition and experience. The group parent Volkswagen already has an automotive plant in Puebla and an engine plant in Silao. “Good infrastructure, competitive cost structures and existing free trade agreements played a significant role in the choice of Mexico,” emphasized Stadler. “This trailblazing move will help us safeguard our position on the world market. Our German locations, too, stand to benefit from it.”
“The new plant will become a fully fledged member of the Audi production network and will implement the very latest standards in terms of resource efficiency and production processes,” stated Frank Dreves, Member of the Board of Management of AUDI AG for Production. “Audi is all about premium quality no matter what the location.” Following on from the policy decision, the next step will be to conduct a detailed examination of various locations in Mexico. AUDI AG aims to choose the exact location within the course of the year. “The factors that we will take into account include not just the specifics of the real estate and its logistical links,” emphasized Thomas Sigi, Member of the Board of Management of AUDI AG for Human Resources. He also cited quality of life as a decisive criterion. “It is important for us to be able to find well-qualified employees there,” continued Sigi, referring to the need for an effective infrastructure of schools and universities.
Peter Mosch, Chairman of the General Works Council of AUDI AG, added: “Stepping up production capacity safeguards our growth and at the same time guarantees the capacity utilization of the main plants, which we envisage will increasingly take on the role of lead plants for our technologies. That means developing modern production methods and strategies, using new materials and joining technologies, and addressing the field of electric mobility. For the employees, this offers attractive, secure jobs and additional career prospects. An employment guarantee will also be agreed.”
“It will be possible to supply customers worldwide with cars built in Mexico to Audi’s renowned standard of quality,” said Peter Schwarzenbauer, Member of the Board of Management of AUDI AG for Marketing and Sales, emphasizing the importance of an international presence for international success. Schwarzenbauer added: “In launching production operations in Mexico, Audi will enhance its own competitiveness and move significantly closer to its sales target of two million units per year by 2020.”
[Source: Audi AG]
Adiós Audi!!!
I’ve been driving German made Audis since 1984 and if I can’t buy a German made Audi, I won’t be driving an Audi at all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think the “old man” has finally lost his mind – I knew the day would come when he’d make a real STUPID decision and that day has come.
I was asked this question a few months ago in a focus group survey and I informed Audi then that I’d never buy one made in China or Mexico. I might buy one made in the US, but would NEVER BUY ONE MADE ANYWHERE ELSE!!!!!!!!!!!
Johan, if you’re listening, you better go to the old man and tell him that the customers that made Audi USA what it is today are not happy with this decision. We’ll vote with our wallets and our expert opinions to our relatives, friends and acquaintances who come to us for our recommendations.
This will leave a big opening for BMW and Mercedes for sure. Looks like a American made X3 will be my next new vehicle next year.
I’ll do my best to repeat some worthy comments made elsewhere on QW by myself and a few others. I have two family members in China who own Audi’s, one a Q5, (an upgrade from her B6), and another with a Q7. They don’t live real close to a dealer, so reliabilty was important. So far, so good, the B6 was the only one needing anything, and that was the well known coilpack issue, which as you know, is a part supplied through a third party, the same ones that supply BMW, who has also had cp issues. Just an example. Most of the issues people have are design and vendor related. Assembly is the easy part. The qc people at Audi are not going to let the quality we know be compromised. VW has been building cars in Brasil for quite a while now, with no real differences quality wise. There’s a lot of ego involved in being able to say my car is still made in Germany, but Audi is simply following the mold of many others before it that seems to be working pretty well for them where I sit.
As a response to John’s comment – I guess he forgot about the issues that VW had with their Mexican plant when they first started making cars there? I’d like to measure the quality defects coming at the end of the line at the Mexican plant versus the VW German plant – Anyone on this list have the numbers?
Second, I work for a very large German company that has plants all over the world including Mexico, China and Brazil. The difference between cultures and the pride that they take in their work are very easy to see when visiting plants that make the same identical products. We have less quality issues at our plants in Germany, than any other plants around the world, including the US. Germans workers still take more pride making products than any other workers that I have observed around the world, at least at the company that I work for.
Sorry, but I’ve seen many Mexican plants in my lifetime and they don’t compare to their US or German plants in quality and workers attitudes.
I’m paying a premium for a German car, so I want one built by Germans who take more pride in the products they build.
Joe, it seems your anger is misdirected and you probably reading too far into this. They didn’t specify which SUV would be built there. Also, The plant is still several years out. So there won’t be any Mexican made SUVs on the market anytime soon. Our best guess is that it will be a Q3 as it lines up with the time frame they gave us in Detroit. I’d also guess the plant will be primarily used to supply the Central and South American markets as Audi barely has a foot hold there.