Photo: Audi
Audi has confirmed that they will soon be producing their cars locally for the North American market, but we still don’t know exactly where. "It's not a matter of if we will do a plant in North America, but when,” Audi of America President Johan de Nysschen told WardsAuto at the Detroit Auto Show recently.
"Getting a plant allows us to have a higher degree of U.S. content. It allows us to have a natural hedge against that,” he added, stressing the importance of reducing the impact of currency fluctuation.
VW’s own Chattanooga plant in Tennessee is not the prime candidate as a location, even though Audis and VWs share tech. Instead, Audi might build its own factory south of the border in Mexico, where the labor is cheaper. "One advantage of Mexico is that you could support the growing markets down in South America, Brazil," de Nysschen says, denoting his knowledge of the fre-trade agreements with some of these countries. "More so, you have the benefit of exporting cars into Europe duty-free."
VW’s own Chattanooga plant in Tennessee is not the prime candidate as a location, even though Audis and VWs share tech. Instead, Audi might build its own factory south of the border in Mexico, where the labor is cheaper. "One advantage of Mexico is that you could support the growing markets down in South America, Brazil," de Nysschen says, denoting his knowledge of the fre-trade agreements with some of these countries. "More so, you have the benefit of exporting cars into Europe duty-free."
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