The Audi factory in Brussels is threatened with closure
- The Audi assembly plant in Brussels Forest (Belgium), which is a former Volkswagen factory, is one of the only two survivors (along with the Volvo assembly plant in Ghent) of the formerly flourishing Belgian automobile industry. This factory produced Volkswagen Lupo, Polo and Golf until 2009, then it produced Audi A1 and A3 until 2018, then finally Audi E-Tron from 2019.
- These battery electric Audi E-Trons which were renamed Q8 E-Tron in 2022 are produced in smaller quantities than the previous models, also produced in this factory, the peak of production having been reached in 2022 with 51,546 units, while the Brussels Forest factory produced 131,226 vehicles in 2012 and even 204,402 in 2005.
- The Audi E-Tron renamed Q8 E-Tron are in fact expensive models reserved for a wealthy class and the sale drop of battery electric vehicles in 2024 observed in several European countries (including Germany which ended in November 2023 ecological bonuses on this type of vehicle) did not help sales of this model in particular.
- Thus, sales of Q8 E-Tron did not exceed 8,130 units over the first five months of 2024, compared to 9,860 over the first five months of 2023 and 11,533 over the first five months of 2022. Over the same period of 2021, the Audi E-Tron achieved 13,156 sales.
- This too low sales volume (which the carmaker had not imagined when the model was launched) threatens the very existence of the Brussels Forest factory which could close in the short or medium term, if no replacement solution is found.