Audi factory in Brussels is closing forever

Audi factory in Brussels will finally stop production on Friday, leaving thousands of employees out of work and falling victim to a disproportionate drop in demand for cars in Europe. It is reported by the AFP news agency, quoted by boursorama.com .

The closure of this division, which employs about 3,000 people and has no buyer at this stage, occurred against the background of the fact that after an increase of almost 10% in 2023, the global market slowed down sharply in 2024, and the number of new car registrations increased by only 1.7%.

Moreover, according to Allianz Trade experts, European automakers are lagging behind major Chinese manufacturers (BYD and Geely) and American Tesla in terms of innovations in the field of electric models.

In the case of Audi, a subsidiary of the German giant Volkswagen, several arguments were presented explaining 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 was considering closing the plant, it referred to a "global decline" in demand for top-line electric SUVs, such as the Q8 e—tron, a model that the plant was fully focused on producing in Brussels. The German company also cited "long-standing structural problems" at the former Volkswagen plant, which has been gradually expanding over the years, but has high logistical costs.

Union leaders and employees criticized Audi for moving too late to electrification, as the company preferred an expensive top-end model.

"We are pushing people to buy electric vehicles, while we are not ready in terms of infrastructure," Jan Batens from the Belgian trade union CSC also complained, referring to the deadline of 2035, which should be marked by the cessation of sales of new cars with internal combustion engines in the EU in favor of fully electric vehicles.

Before that date, the share of electric vehicles in the EU market this year should reach 25%, compared with 15%, calculated for January.

"Now we have a problem with demand. It is noteworthy that we have reached this 15% in less than five years. Vehicles are now available, but demand is stagnating," Sigrid de emphasized last week. Vries, CEO of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA).

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