EUROPE REPORT
Audi said it intends to “restructure” its Forest production site in Brussels, a move that clearly could end with the site closing by 2027. Production of the model Q8 e-tron, the only model produced in Forest, will end sooner than was expected. Audi Brussels manufactured about 53,000 cars in 2023, but the sale of the large Q8 car with a high price tag (the catalog price starts at 86,000 EUR) does not meet market demand in Europe.
The possible closure could put more than 1500 employees out of work. The full production of the electric SUV Q8 e-tron will be relocated to Mexico and China where production costs will be lower than in Europe.
This is not the first time that the passenger car manufacturers closed their factories in Belgium. Even though the country has had an excellent reputation in the industry since General Motors inaugurated its second factory outside of the United States in Antwerp in 1925, Renaut shut down its site in Vilvord in 1997, Opel closed its factory in Antwerp in 2010 and Ford ended their car production in Genk in 2014. If Audi’s intention to shut down the site in Forest comes true, the only car manufacturer remaining in Belgum would be Volvo Car in Gand. The facility produces three models: XC40, IaeC40 and V60. More than 230,000 cars were produced last year by 7,000 workers.
Annual assembly of cars in Belgium has dropped from more than a million to 300,000 units in the last 30 years.
The industry experts say that the Audi management decision is not surprising. The sale of electric SUVs is continuously dropping in Europe due to the inflation and unstable economic and political situation. The foreign competition is growing. Reducing the production costs and the pricing are mandatory to stay competitive in the market. PSR
By Natasa Mulahalilovic is Marine Product Manager-Europe for Power Systems Research
