Audi AG (NSU.XE) will stop assembling cars in Russia this year,
business daily Vedomosti quotes a local representative of the
German luxury auto maker as saying in Tuesday's edition.
Assembly of some models began last fall in the Kaluga region of
western Russia, at a factory owned and run by Audi's parent,
Volkswagen AG (VOW.XE). Initial work involved Audi A4 and A5 sedans
and the Q5 sport-utility vehicle, with the A6 and Q7 added in
January. But Audi officials had warned they wouldn't move to full
assembly of vehicles and that the preliminary work was done only to
fulfill employment obligations to the local government.
The Audi Russia representative couldn't say exactly when the
assembly work will end, Vedomosti says, but an employee at the
Kaluga plant said it will most likely be in three months.
The plant and all workers are now assembling other models,
including Volkswagens and those of VW's Czech subsidiary, Skoda,
the Audi representative said. Volkswagen recently began preparing
production of a new sedan, the Polo, designed specifically for
emerging markets, with plans for Kaluga to churn out 10,000 cars
this year and 30,000 in 2011. The output of Audis from Kaluga
hasn't been disclosed.
Newspaper website: www.vedomosti.ru
-Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2900