- Nio will reportedly submit an official provide for Audi’s Brussels plant on September 23.
- The manufacturing facility presently solely builds the Q8 E-Tron and Audi has no plans to supply the rest there.
The European Union will undertake new import duties for vehicles manufactured in China, and a number of other Chinese language producers have introduced their curiosity in constructing vehicles within the EU. Nio, reportedly looking for to take over Audi’s manufacturing plant in Belgium, is the most recent addition to this listing.
In line with Belgian publication De Tijd, Nio will submit an official provide to buy the plant by September 23. It intends to make the most of the whole manufacturing facility for automobile meeting in Europe, thus avoiding the newly imposed import duties on China-made vehicles, which is added on high of the prevailing 10% tariff.
Audi, which hasn’t been doing so nice these days, is actively looking for a purchaser for the plant, having despatched its practically 3,000-strong workforce house with out pay after they refused to return to work resulting from calls for for greater salaries and assurances of future job safety. Issues escalated to the purpose the place employees gathered outdoors the plant in protest and set piles of tires on hearth to draw consideration.
Earlier than the information that Nio was inquisitive about shopping for the plant broke, native Belgian media studies had been satisfied the manufacturing facility’s destiny was already sealed after Audi mother or father Volkswagen introduced it had no plans to make new fashions there.
The automaker is presently constructing the Q8 E-Tron in Brussels, however the mannequin isn’t promoting anyplace close to in addition to Audi hoped, and it’s contemplating ending its manufacturing early. Moreover, the electrical Q8’s substitute won’t be manufactured in Belgium (manufacturing will probably be moved to Mexico and China), and Audi now not sees a use for this explicit manufacturing location.
Nio is conscious of this, and it’ll leverage the data to get an excellent deal on the manufacturing facility, which might permit it to drastically increase its presence throughout the continent. Its earlier interplay with Audi wasn’t a constructive one, although, because the German automaker took Nio to court docket in Germany (and gained) over its ES6, ES7 and ES8 mannequin names, which sounded too just like S6 and S7.
Nio isn’t the one Chinese language automaker seeking to construct vehicles in Europe for native markets. BYD is already constructing its first automobile plant in Europe close to Szeged in Hungary, which can have a capability of 300,000 vehicles per yr, and it’s eyeing areas for a second manufacturing facility.
SAIC Motor is one other massive Chinese language identify seeking to construct vehicles in Europe. In line with studies, it has already chosen a location within the Galicia area of Spain, however additionally it is contemplating Hungary or Czechia resulting from their decrease labor prices. The plant would construct MG-badged autos like the MG4.
China’s Chery has already signed a take care of Ebro EV-Motors, an organization based mostly close to Barcelona, to fabricate Omoda EVs within the area. Its aim is to supply 150,000 EVs per yr there by 2029. Leapmotor has additionally gone down the three way partnership path, and it’s partnered with Stellantis to construct its tiny T03 metropolis EV in Poland alongside Jeep and Fiat fashions.
