Audi shares a massive Rs 1861 billion investment plan
Audi announces one of its biggest investments planning of Rs 1861 billion which is nearly Rs 155 billion more than the previous planning period. The planning period extends through 2015 to 2019. Audi claims 70 per cent of the investment will drive into the development of new vehicle models and advanced technologies. In an attempt to decrease carbon footprint, Audi will aim meeting lesser CO2 limits worldwide with new generation of economical combustion engines and alternative efficiency technologies. The company will also be expanding its worldwide production network and more than half of the planned investment will be initiated at German sites in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm.
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Audi plans to develop new cutting-edge technologies and to create additional production capacities worldwide in the next five years through large-scale investment. “We place top priority on sustainable growth. That’s why we are making large investments in the innovative areas of electric mobility, connectivity and lightweight construction,” stated Rupert Stadler, CEO, Chairman of the Board of Management, AUDI AG. The company is also pushing ahead with the expansion of its global production network.
Globally the group’s workforce has expanded to the size of 80,000 employees. In Mexico and Brazil, the company is investing in new plants so that it can fully utilise the growth potential of the American continent. Axel Strotbek, CFO, Board of Management Member for Finance stated, “Despite the growth in total investment we will keep a watchful eye on the upcoming challenges and exercise the required cost discipline.” The expansion of international manufacturing infrastructure and higher expense on new models and technologies, in particular to meet stricter CO2 limits worldwide, require huge efforts from the entire workforce.
Another important element of the biggest investment program in the company’s history is the expansion of manufacturing structures in Germany and abroad. “The sites in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm are the basis for our international success. We therefore plan to make more than half of the total investment in Germany,” emphasised Strotbek. The production plant in Ingolstadt is already being prepared for new models. Extensive rebuilding work will start also in Neckarsulm in 2015, in order to prepare the plant for the next generation of the Audi A8 luxury sedan.
The workforce will also grow in the context of the investment in the main plants in Germany. In the past twelve months, Audi has recruited approximately 3,000 new employees in Germany alone. “We will continue to recruit in 2015, thus underpinning our course of sustainable growth,” said Thomas Sigi, Board of Management Member, Human Resources, Audi. The company will also be promoting its own young talent and will once again provide specialist training to 700 young people. “We want to strengthen our core competencies, especially in key technologies, with a strong team in the domestic plants,” continued Sigi.
The ongoing high investment in the development of new models and technologies will become tangible for customers already next year in the form of numerous products. In addition to the new generation of the A6 family in the large car segment, deliveries of which started in the fall of 2014, the new Audi Q3 and Audi RS Q3 will go into production with many innovative technologies in the New Year. And the new Audi A1 and A1 Sportback will be launched in 2015, also with innovative 3€‘cylinder engines.
