Audi has reportedly denied newspaper speculation that it would pull out of Hungary by 2006.
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“We are committed to Hungary for the long term,” Audi Hungary spokesman Peter Lore told Reuters, adding that speculation in Hungarian daily Magyar Nemzet and on German internet portals quoted by the paper was totally unfounded.
Magyar Nemzet, basing itself on an earlier interview with Audi Hungary’s chairman Thomas Faustmann, who said assembly of TT Roadsters was only certain until 2006, suggested the German firm could leave Hungary at that time, the news agency said.
Audi is Hungary’s largest exporter, with sales of €3.72 billion ($4.5 billion) last year and a profit of €314 million. Its factory in Gyor, northwest Hungary, is the main engine production site for Volkswagen’s Audi arm and also assembles Audi TT coupes and roadsters, but the assembly activity is winding down to a planned 25,000 vehicles this year from 34,711 units last year, as the car is approaching the end of its life cycle, Reuters noted.
Engine output is planned to increase to 1.5 million units this year from 1.335 million last year, Faustmann reportedly said last month.
