Audi plans US$3.9 billion investment in China

Wolfgang Duerheimer, Audi AG’s new board member for technical development, said the company will continue to invest heavily in China and plans to produce new models in its biggest market. Duerheimer said the luxury carmaker plans to spend €3 billion (US$3.9 billion) for the development, production and sales of new products in China over the next five years.
The additional investment will help Audi boost its Chinese production to 700,000 cars a year. In the first 10 months of 2012, Audi’s China sales went up by 31.6% year-on-year to 330,582 units, surpassing its delivery in the country for the whole of 2011.
Audi has a joint venture in China with its parent Volkswagen Group and local partner FAW Corp. The partnership builds the Audi A6L, A4L and Q5 SUV, as well as other Volkswagen models in the northeastern city of Changchun. The JV is also building a new plant for both Audi and Volkswagen cars in Foshan, a city in Guangdong province in southern China. (November 27, 2012)