Audi closes plant in Belgium: the end for the Q8 E-Tron
Audi has decided to close the Brussels plant at the end of February, which means that production of the Q8 E-Tron and Q8 E-Tron Sportback large electric SUVs will cease. The reason is low demand. According to the company's management, sales of these models do not justify the cost of maintaining the plant.
The last cars will be assembled on 28 February 2025. This was reported by the representative of Audi Peter D'hoore.
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Audi has been trying to find a buyer for its Belgian plant, but without success. There were even rumours of interest from Chinese company Nio, but its CEO William Li denied these claims in September. The decision to close was commented on by Audi board member Gerd Walker, who called it "painful" and "the most difficult of his career".
Audi Q8 Sportback e-tron. Photo: Audi
Audi will sell around 49,000 units of the Q8 E-Tron in 2023 - a 4.3 per cent drop from 2022. By comparison, the plant's capacity to produce 120,000 cars per year, so the economic viability of maintaining production simply disappeared.
The Brussels plant opened in 1949 and now employs more than 3,000 people. Audi positioned it as the world's first carbon-neutral plant in the premium segment, but that didn't save it from closure.
Source: Reuters
