Audi considers building Q8 e-tron luxury SUV in Brussels

As the German publication Handelsblatt writes, citing negotiating circles, a large electric SUV above the Q8 e-tron could be built in Brussels in the future. Previously, the plan was to have such a model produced at the Audi plant in Neckarsulm. However, the recent increase in demand for combustion engines in Germany could mean that Neckarsulm could be sufficiently utilised with the updated A5 and A7 combustion models.

However, the production of the large luxury SUV, which would probably have to be called Q10 e-tron according to the current Audi naming convention (straight numbers are intended for combustion models, which is why Q9 e-tron is out of the question), is not the only variant currently being discussed. The Brussels plant is also being considered for the production of batteries and components for the German plants, according to the report.

In response to an enquiry by Handelsblatt, Audi itself stated that the subsequent allocation at the Brussels plant should be clarified by November. This is when the VW Group’s traditional planning round takes place, in which the production of the individual models is allocated to the plants for the next five years. According to the informants from Belgium, June is likely to be a decisive phase: This week, a task force of the Belgian government is to send a package of measures to Audi on how – and with what financial support – the plant could be maintained. Further talks between the government in Brussels and the car manufacturer are then apparently planned for mid-June.

One thing is clear: production in Brussels is currently not profitable for Audi. With a capacity of 120,000 units, the Belgian plant is the smallest production site in Europe; otherwise, Audi still produces its vehicles in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm in Germany, as well as Györ in Hungary. But even this capacity was not nearly utilised in Brussels recently: Audi only produced 37,400 vehicles in Belgium in 2030, according to figures from Marklines. Last year also saw the model change from the e-tron quattro to the Q8 e-tron, which was only a facelift of the original model. However, the SUV model never exceeded sales of 47,900 vehicles in 2022.

Audi clearly wants to avoid closing a plant in Europe, however, the situation is not simple. After all, it is unclear whether an even more exclusively positioned SUV with a length of more than five metres would generate the necessary numbers to better utilise the capacity of 120,000 units. Such a model would probably be based on the SSP and therefore come as a purely electric model – the Q8 e-tron is still based on an electrified combustion engine platform and therefore has some disadvantages. However, it is unclear whether the SSP will be sufficient to utilise the capacity of the Brussels plant, even with global exports. Capacity utilisation is also below plan at other plants: in Hungary, only 114,000 Audis were built in 2023; 200,000 units would be possible.

handelsblatt.com (in German)