Audi Won’t Build a Factory Exclusively for Electric Vehicles

Currently, Audi plans to begin selling the E-Tron SUV next year, with the sportier E-Tron Sportback going on sale the year after that. But these electric vehicles won’t be built in their own factory. In fact, at least for the foreseeable future, Audi has no plans to build an EV-specific factory or designate one of its current factories as EV-only. 

Automotive News reports that according to CEO Rupert Stadler, EVs will be built in plants it already operates. “In future, electric cars will roll off the line in all of our plants,” Stadler reportedly told a group of several thousand workers at Audi’s headquarters in Ingolstadt, Germany.

We already knew that Audi planned to offer about a dozen all-electric vehicles by 2025 and that its first two EVs will be built at its Brussels plant. It also plans to build some EVs in its German facilities and will likely add its Mexico factory to the list soon.

As the auto industry begins a gradual shift away from the internal combustion engine, the decision not to build EVs in only one factory gives workers some more job security. But it also shows that Audi believes EVs will be much more than a niche product in another 10 years.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription required)

The post Audi Won’t Build a Factory Exclusively for Electric Vehicles appeared first on Motor Trend.

from Motor Trend http://ift.tt/2wkquRR