Ingolstadt/Foshan - A ceremony to announce
the new site was held in Foshan today. As well as Rupert Stadler,
Chairman of the Board of Management of AUDI AG, and the entire Audi
Board of Management, it was attended by Professor Martin Winterkorn,
Chairman of the Supervisory Board of AUDI AG, Xu Jianyi, President of
the FAW Group Corporation, and An Tiecheng, President of FAW-VW, as well
as leading government representatives of the Guangdong province.
Second plant for Audi in China Chairman
Rupert Stadler: “Important milestone in our growth strategy for China”
Expansion of total capacity in China to as many as 700,000 cars a year
Audi is to strengthen its presence significantly in China and start
production at a new plant in southern China from 2013. FAW-VW is
currently setting up a full production facility in Foshan with press
shop, body shop, paint shop and assembly, on a site covering 100
hectares. The factory will employ around 4,000 people from 2013. The FAW-VW
joint venture, in which Audi has an interest together with its Chinese
partner FAW and Volkswagen, is to invest around three billion euros in
China in products, production and sales of the Audi brand in the next
five years.
“Our ties with China and our partner FAW
date back more than 20 years,” explained Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the
Board of Management of AUDI AG, at the ceremony announcing the new
production site. “In order to be able to tackle future challenges
together as well, we want to strengthen our presence significantly in
China and further strengthen our strategic partnership. The new plant is
an important milestone in our long-term growth strategy in China.”
Audi has already been represented – along
with its partner FAW – in the north Chinese city of Changchun for more
than 20 years where it builds long-wheelbase versions of the Audi A4 and
Audi A6 as well as the Audi Q5. Production capacity in Changchun will
increase to between 500,000 and 550,000 cars in the next few years, with
a production volume of around 150,000 to 200,000 cars planned for Foshan.
This means that both plants together will have a potential of up to
700,000 cars a year. A new member of the Audi A3 family is planned to be
produced at the Foshan site.
Audi is the market leader in the premium
segment in China and delivered 253,739 cars to customers (incl. Hong
Kong) from January through October, 32 percent more than in the
prior-year period. The sales total is expected to exceed 300,000 cars
for the first time by the end of the year.
