One year of Audi México: Superb results achieved

One year after construction work started in Mexico, the progress that has been made on the future plant site of Audi México is readily apparent, and work on the building shell is advancing rapidly.The start of series production of the Audi Q5* in mid-2016 is approaching: One year after construction work started in Mexico, the progress that has been made on the future plant site of Audi México is readily apparent, and work on the building shell is advancing rapidly. Employee training activities are also moving forward at full speed. There are already 700 local employees on board in all. With the newly created supplier network, 65 percent of value creation can now take place locally.   

“Construction work is proceeding on schedule,” says Audi Board Member for Production Dr. Hubert Waltl. “And that’s also very important, since the plant in Mexico is a key component in our growth and internationalization strategy.” By the end of 2014, all of the construction work will have been weatherproofed, at which point the systems can start to be installed at the San José Chiapa site. The Site Office – the office for the construction of the plant – opened back in January with 250 new jobs. Construction of the press shop, paint shop and media headquarters will soon be completed.

The employee training center will begin operation in September. It will serve as the central building for training activities even before the start of production in 2016. Among the building’s other activities, Audi México employees will undergo individual training here that will teach them about the premium standards of the highly flexible and efficient Audi Production System.“ This will help us ensure superior levels of quality while also offering tailor-made training for our employees,” says Audi Board Member for Human Resources Thomas Sigi. One year after its founding, the company already employs 700 local people. In addition, more than 100 young people have embarked on apprenticeships in four vocational fields. The vocational training programs, which follow the German model, will last three years. On the whole, there is great interest in working for Audi México: Since the online application tool went live in August 2013, more than 50,000 candidates have applied, most of them with a college degree. In the future, over 3,800 people will be part of the team at the new plant. 

The future suppliers for Audi México have also largely been identified. More than 130 suppliers are now on board. 75 percent of them are based in North America, and 20 percent are from Europe. The situation means more than 65 percent of value creation can take place locally. This quota is the basis for the Audi Q5 to be exported duty-free worldwide from Mexico. Audi Board Member for Procurement Dr. Bernd Martens: “In the medium term we are striving to achieve even 90 percent of localization. This generates a great employment effect. In the next 10 years there will be 20,000 jobs created in the area.”

Another milestone in terms of procurement came recently, with the start of excavation activities for construction of the new JIS (just in sequence) supplier park south of the plant grounds. About 1,000 people will work there, delivering parts in precision sequence to the Audi plant in San José Chiapa. In the future, about 150,000 cars per year will roll off assembly lines there, bound for the global market.

Fuel consumption of the model named above:

Audi Q5:
Combined fuel consumption in l/100 km: 8.5 – 4.9 (27.7 – 48.0 US mpg);
Combined CO2 emissions in g/km: 199 – 129 (320.3 – 207.6 g/mi)