Just when we thought the four-year drama of a U.S. factory for Audi might be clearing up, we’re back to the muddy. Not even two weeks after a Detroit outlet reported that the decision has already been made to build an Audi plant in the States, German Manager Magazin quotes Audi boss Rupert Stadler as saying he’d like a factory in Mexico for production of the Q5.
According to Manager, that has resulted in blowback from Volkswagen honchos who want Audi to take advantage of the VW factory in Chattanooga. Remember, Automobile magazine hinted in February that an expansion at the Tennessee location could be used to build crossovers for Audi and Porsche.
When might there be some clarity about this matter? What’s German for “Who knows?” Last month, Stadler apparently said a decision would be made in 12 months, the recent Detroit article claimed a decision would come in 36 months, and an Audi spokesman responding to this latest Mexico news said “before 2015.” What we know for sure is that Audis will be built somewhere in North American at some point in the near-ish future. That much is crystal clear. Maybe.
Audi would rather build its own plant in Mexico than double-up with VW originally appeared on AudiMobiles 5.0 on Fri, 22 Jul 2011 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.