Whilst most carmakers based out of Europe are shutting plants or losing money on every car manufactured due to overcapacity, Audi has announced an additional 12 shifts at its production plant in Neckarsulm, Germany.
Since demand for the Neckarsulm-made A6 and A7 is improving, new shifts have been called for starting next month.
The first quarter of the year was a very busy time for the factory workers of the Ingolstadt-based auto maker as they manufactured 2,600 cars above the planned production volume. This plant is Audi’s second-biggest after the primary facility in Ingolstadt.
Audi termed the economic conditions in Europe as "difficult" but strong demand for bigger models implies that the luxury market is a flexible one. Audi plans to buck the trend for the rest of the year by introducing more SUV's and derivatives of the A3 platform. It plans to enhance profits by manufacturing more big cars.
Audi said it would invest €11 billion (USD 14.2 billion) by 2015 to ramp up production and add new vehicles to its lineup. The company plans to inaugurate a new facility in Foshan, China this year and is presently expanding the production capacity in Gyor, Hungary. These plants have been appointed as production centers for the upcoming A3 sedan.
Audi India assembles the A6 at the Aurangabad factory while the higher-segment A7 is a CBU import.
[Source - Bloomberg.com via Carscoops.com]
