Jubilee in Audi’s mid-sized range: The brand with the Four Rings has been producing the Audi A4 at its main plant in Ingolstadt for 20 years now. With more than six million units sold so far, it is the most successful Audi of all time. The new mid-sized car conquered the world’s markets from the launch of the series in 1994 onwards. And twenty years later, strong demand continues for the Audi A4, now in its fourth generation.
“When the Audi A4 superseded the successful Audi 80 series 20 years ago, it became a bestseller soon after its launch. It was the fastest production ramp‑up in the company’s history. The foundations were laid by our employees’ commitment and the excellent preparations made for the new model series,” stated Dr. Hubert Waltl, Board of Management Member for Production at AUDI AG. “The sporty A4 family is the heart of the Audi brand still today, and is extremely popular with our customers around the world.”
The premium manufacturer produced 576,680 automobiles in Ingolstadt in the year 2013, one third of which were Audi A4 Sedan, Avant and allroad quattro* models. More than 40,000 additional units of the A4 Sedan drove off the production line at the plant in Neckarsulm. Using the so‑called production turntable system, the sites in Neckarsulm and Ingolstadt have shared production of the A4 since the launch of the fourth generation in 2007. Meanwhile, Audi also produces the A4 locally for the markets in China, India and Indonesia.
In addition to the Audi A3 volume model, the Audi A4 the second major pillar of the company’s main plant in Ingolstadt, where more than 700 A4 models are produced every day. “The A4 secures the utilization of capacity in our German plants, and thus also employment, on a long‑term basis,” stated Peter Mosch, Chairman of the General Works Council of AUDI AG.
“The 20‑year success story of the Audi A4 is due above all to our production team. With their specialist expertise and great motivation, our employees master series launches with great success and produce premium automobiles of the highest quality – day in, day out,” stated Plant Director Peter Kössler.
The Audi plant in Ingolstadt is currently preparing for production of the fifth‑generation A4, which will be launched in 2015. Numerous construction changes and other modernizations are necessary for the new model. In the new body shop in the northern part of the plant site, for example, more than 1,300 machines such as robots and welding guns are being installed.
Since its market launch in November 1994, more than six million customers have decided in favor of an Audi A4 model. The company has already delivered more than two million units of the current generation alone (in production since 2007). Demand is particularly strong for the Audi A4 in China, Germany and the United States. In the German market, every fifth car delivered to customers by Audi in 2013 was of this model series.
Source: Audi