German automaker Audi is set to invest EUR22bn to develop new models, innovations and for the expansion of the worldwide production network between 2014 and 2018.
Almost 70% of the investment is intended for new models and technologies. The carmaker will use more than half of the planned investment in the Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm plants.
Of the total investment, EUR16bn will come from fixed assets and the remaining EUR6bn from capitalized development costs.
Along with its A3 Sportback e-tron and A3 Sportback g-tron, the carmaker will also produce a new design, Audi TT Coupé, under this new investment program. The company is currently expanding its production facilities worldwide.
Audi intends to expand its product range from 49 models to 60 different models by 2020 to reach its goal of two million deliveries per year. The investment will enable it to develop next generation of fuel-efficient engines.
Besides this, Audi will also establish its first North American plant in San José Chiapa, Mexico. Audi Q5 will be the first model to roll off the production line starting in 2016.
The company will also restart production in Sao José dos Pinhais, Brazil in 2015, where it will produce the new A3 Sedan and Audi Q3. It will also invest in Hungary following the completion of a full vehicle production plant in Gyor.
Audi management board member Axel Strotbek said: "In the future, we will be investing increasingly in new products: 70 percent is intended for the modernization and expansion of the model range and for our portfolio of technologies."
Image: Audi will invest EUR22bn between 2014 and 2018 to develop new models. Photo: Courtesy of AUDI AG.
