Audi has started construction work at its planned Mexican production plant in San José Chiapa.
A foundation stone has been laid and construction started at the site in the federal state of Puebla, which will be Audi’s first factory in North America.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
The company is planning investment of more than EUR900m in the next two years to create a body shop, paint shop and assembly line, as well as a new press shop. Starting in mid-2016, the successor generation of the successful SUV model, Audi Q5, will be produced at the plant.
“With the production of one of our most successful models here in Mexico, we will give significant impetus to our global growth and supply the extremely popular Audi Q5 from here to the world market,” said Rupert Stadler, Audi chairman.
“By setting up a new car plant in North America, we are establishing a presence on another continent that is very important to us. In this way, we are strengthening our international competitiveness and consistently pursuing the Audi growth strategy.”
Audi says the plant will have an annual production capacity of up to 150,000 units and will create 3,800 direct jobs. The employment effect for the overall region should add up to 20,000 jobs, it says.
