San José Chiapa, Puebla — After nearly four years of construction, German automaker Audi officially opened its new assembly plant here to produce Q5 crossovers.
The $1.3 billion USD factory will have capacity to churn out 150,000 cars annually, headed mainly to the United States. Down the road, the plant will become the sole source of Q5 output globally as Audi phases out that model’s production in Germany.
Earlier this week, Audi unveiled the second-generation Q5 at the Paris auto show.
The Mexico plant is Audi’s first factory outside of its established export base in Europe to assemble vehicles for global export. Its China-made vehicles are sold only in China.
In another key milestone for the fast-growing North American manufacturing hub, Audi is also the first luxury automaker to open a factory in Mexico.
Audi chairman Rupert Stadler delivered a speech in Spanish at the grand opening ceremony today, calling Mexico the “perfect place for our exports to different parts of the world.”
Audi will employ 4,200 workers at the plant by year-end.
Source: Audi
