Audi Factory in Brussels is closing forever – Edaily, February 27, 2025 – Economy, Europe

The Audi factory in Brussels will finally stop the production on Friday, leaving thousands of employees not to work and fall victim to a disproportionate decrease in cars in Europe. It is reported by the AFP News Agency, quoted by boursorama.com.

The closure of this division, which hires about 3,000 people and has no buyer at this stage, took place on the background that, after an increase of almost 10% in 2023, the global market suddenly slowed in 2024, and the number of new car recordings increased by only 1.7%.

Moreover, according to experts in the Allianz trade, European car manufacturers remained behind major Chinese producers (BYD and Geely) and American Tesla in terms of electric models.

In the case of Audi, a subsidiary of the German giant Volkswagen, several arguments were presented that explain the closure of a manufacturing facility that was the largest private employer in the capital of a European country.

When Audi announced in July last year that it is considering the closing of the plant, it was referring to a “Global decline” On request for top electric SUVs, such as Q8 e-tron, a model that the plant has been fully focused on production in Brussels. The German company quoted and “Long -lasting structural problems” At the former Volkswagen plant, which has gradually expanded over the years, but has high logistics.

The union leaders and employees criticized Audi because he moved too late to electrification, because the company preferred a top model.

“We are pushing people to buy electric vehicles, while we are not prepared in terms of infrastructure.” Jan Batns From the Belgian Union CSC, it was also complained to the deadline of 2035, which should be marked by the cessation of new cars with internal combustion engines in the EU in favor of fully electric vehicles.

Prior to this time, the share of electric vehicles on the EU market this year should reach 25%, compared to 15%, calculated for January.

“Now we have a problem with the request. It is worth noting that we have reached this 15% in less than five years. Vehicles are now available but the demand stagnates.” Sigrid to emphasize last week. VriesCEO of the European Association of Automobile Manufacturers (that).

In 2024, Audi delivered over 164,000 “All-electric” models, which is 8% less than in the previous year. The Chinese market, which represents almost 40% of the total offer (650 thousand out of 1.67 million), decreased by 11%. As a symbol of this decline, the Brussels plant will finally stop its assembly lines on Friday, although, according to the management, about 300 people will continue to work for several months, making accounting, personal, cleaning and disassembly.