Audi decides against building new model in Brussels

Audi management has officially announced in the so-called company council between management representatives and employees in Brussels that the Ingolstadt-based company will not have a new model built in the Belgian plant, and that other brands from the VW Group will apparently not be stepping in either. Audi has now confirmed this information from Automobilwoche.

In other words, there is no lifeline for the ailing plant, at least not from within the Group. As Volkswagen has no longer ruled out the closure of plants in Germany since this week – apparently at least one vehicle plant and one component plant are under discussion – it is extremely unlikely that the Wolfsburg-based company or another Group brand will have a new model built in Brussels while a plant is closed in Germany. Audi has been pointing out the structural problems of the Belgian plant for some time, particularly since the restructuring was announced in July.

This means that the plant and its employees can only hope for an external investor or another car manufacturer to take over the plant. In August, the union reported that an investor had expressed interest to Audi in the factory itself and some of the staff, but not in the car production line. VW is also said to have considered using some of the staff to establish battery production for other Group plants. However, there is no longer any talk of this at present.

The challenge – in addition to the high labour costs – is that the plant is virtually impossible to expand due to its location right next to the railway tracks. And as there is no press shop in Brussels, large body parts have to be delivered from other plants – which also increases logistics costs. A potential buyer would therefore also need a second site to produce body parts there.

However, the negotiations required in Belgium prior to mass redundancies and the talks surrounding a possible sale process will no longer be conducted by the current plant manager Volker Germann for Audi. Audi has announced that the manager will take on new responsibilities within the company. Thomas Bogus will take over the management of Audi Brussels on 16 September. Bogus is currently project manager for the production of fully electric Audi models. “With his expertise in production and international experience in the Volkswagen and Audi Group, Volker Germann was closely involved in the shift to electric mobility at the Brussels site. We thank him for his untiring efforts and his personal commitment at the site,” says Gerd Walker, Audi Board Member for Production and Logistics.

automobilwoche.de (in German, models), audi-mediacenter.com (staffing)