- Nio will reportedly submit an official provide for Audi’s Brussels plant on September 23.
- The manufacturing unit at present solely builds the Q8 E-Tron and Audi has no plans to provide the rest there.
The European Union will undertake new import duties for automobiles manufactured in China, and several other Chinese language producers have introduced their curiosity in constructing automobiles within the EU. Nio, reportedly looking for to take over Audi’s manufacturing plant in Belgium, is the newest addition to this checklist.
In keeping 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 your complete manufacturing unit for automobile meeting in Europe, thus avoiding the newly imposed import duties on China-made automobiles, 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 on account of calls for for greater salaries and assurances of future job safety. Issues escalated to the purpose the place staff gathered exterior the plant in protest and set piles of tires on hearth to draw consideration.
Earlier than the information that Nio was occupied with shopping for the plant broke, native Belgian media studies have been satisfied the manufacturing unit’s destiny was already sealed after Audi guardian Volkswagen introduced it had no plans to make new fashions there.
The automaker is at present 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 alternative is not going to be manufactured in Belgium (manufacturing shall be moved to Mexico and China), and Audi now not sees a use for this specific manufacturing location.
Nio is conscious of this, and it’ll leverage the knowledge to get deal on the manufacturing unit, which might enable it to vastly broaden 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 much like S6 and S7.
Nio isn’t the one Chinese language automaker seeking to construct automobiles in Europe for native markets. BYD is already constructing its first automobile plant in Europe close to Szeged in Hungary, which may have a capability of 300,000 automobiles per yr, and it’s eyeing areas for a second manufacturing unit.
SAIC Motor is one other huge Chinese language title seeking to construct automobiles in Europe. In keeping with studies, it has already chosen a location within the Galicia area of Spain, however additionally it is contemplating Hungary or Czechia on account of their decrease labor prices. The plant would construct MG-badged automobiles like the MG4.
China’s Chery has already signed a cope with Ebro EV-Motors, an organization based mostly close to Barcelona, to fabricate Omoda EVs within the area. Its aim is to provide 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.
