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Audi spending an additional $2.5 billion on expansion through 2019

Every year, it seems the Volkswagen Group announces a new and larger spend to push growth and profit, with Audi a regular recipient of the moolah. That's reasonable, seeing as hauls in 40 percent of Group operating profits. In December last year Audi said it would spend an additional 100 million euros ($122M US) per year through 2018 to develop new models and expand production, targeting 60 models by 2020 and luxury sales leadership. This month Audi said it will boost that by another two billion euros ($2.5B US) over the next five years, for a total outlay of 24 billion euros from 2014 to 2019. Something like 70 percent of those billions will be spent on new models, technology like "connectivity and lightweight construction," and factory expansion at its plants in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm. Most of the ten models that will plump the lineup to 60 cars will mainly be aimed at the C and D segments, as well as crossovers, the brand's burgeoning portfolio of PHEV models, and all-electric cars that will begin staking ground in the segment. The big spend comes at the same time as Audi is working hard to reduce costs by $2.5 billion to maintain profitability, part of a larger push by VW to cut costs by $6.1 billion by 2017. More than a billion euros will go to new factories in Mexico and Brazil. Work begins on the Mexico plant next year, and when it comes on-line in 2016, Audi's Q5 successor will roll out of its warehouse doors; Audi has already announced it will hire 850 more workers next year in Mexico. When that's done, Mexico's production of German luxury cars will only trail that of Germany, China and the US. The company's Brazil plant will produce the A3 and S3 starting next year, and the brand figures luxury car buying there will triple by 2017. News Source: Reuters Earnings/Financials Plants/Manufacturing Audi Volkswagen Luxury Mexico Brazil ulrich hackenberg

Recharge Wrap-up: Audi A4 TDI in US, Local Motors' 3D EV sales

Local Motors plans to begin selling its 3D-printed electric cars in 2016. The Arizona-based startup will begin by selling a neighborhood electric vehicle, called the Reload Redacted, in the first quarter of 2016, with a full-speed version to follow. The design for the car, submitted by Kevin Lo, was chosen by a panel from a pool of entries. The company plans to set up microfactories to build the cars at a fraction of the cost of setting up a traditional automotive manufacturing facility. Now, Local Motors is looking at ways to quicken the 3D-printing process, a task that currently takes days for a single vehicle. Read more at NBC News, or in a blog post from Local Motors. Audi will bring a diesel variant of the A4 to the US for the first time as a 2017 model. The new A4 is slated to go on sale in March of 2016. In addition to the gasoline-powered 2.0-liter TFSI motor, the A4 will be available with a 2.0-liter turbocharged diesel motor, providing 190 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque, mated to a seven-speed S Tronic dual-clutch transmission. Audi has not yet release fuel economy figures or pricing. Read more at Hybrid Cars. A company called EV Charging USA has announced its entrance into the marketplace. After a research phase, EV Charging has launched a services division to provide consulting services to the electric vehicle industry, particularly to charging networks looking to expand into new markets. EV Charging says it helps companies evaluate existing charging locations and make decisions about new locations, equipment and installation vendors. With charging industry revenues expected to grow to $2.9 billion by 2030, EV Charging USA sees potential for its services worldwide. Read more in the press release below. EV Charging USA Inc. Enters National & International Sector CHICAGO, July 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- EV Charging (OTCQB: EVUS) today announced its entrance into the EV Charging marketplace. The company after extensive research has elected to launch an EV charging support related services division. The company reviewed a multitude of research and announcements by some of the top automobile producers and researchers in the world, such as BMW, Chevrolet, Tesla, Nissan, Ford and other major automobile manufacturers.

VW and partner SAIC start building $2.5B Audi plant in China

BEIJING — Volkswagen AG's China joint venture with SAIC Motor Corp has started building a $2.5 billion new energy vehicle (NEV) plant in Shanghai, which will make VW's luxury Audi brand cars, a possible first for the venture. The new plant is a key step for Audi to diversify production of its cars in the world's largest car market from its long-standing local partner, China FAW Group Corp. This shift has been delayed amid resistance from local dealers. SAIC Volkswagen said the new plant would have an annual capacity to make 300,000 cars and begin production from 2020. Audi sold 481,387 vehicles in China from January to September this year. The announcement comes the same week Tesla secured a Shanghai location for a Gigafactory battery plant to serve the Chinese market. Audi unveiled the plan to bolster ties with SAIC in late 2016. Earlier this year, the Germany luxury carmaker bought a 1 percent stake in the SAIC Volkswagen venture, paving the way for the joint venture to produce and sell Audi cars. Volkswagen currently gets a larger proportion of the proceeds from the 50-50 tie-up with SAIC than from its 40 percent stake in the venture with FAW. SAIC Volkswagen said in a statement on Friday the plant would cost 17 billion yuan ($2.5 billion) and would make VW and Skoda models as well as Audi cars. It will help VW tap China's fast-growing market for NEVs, a category comprising electric battery cars and plug-in electric hybrid vehicles. ($1 = 6.9314 Chinese yuan renminbi) Reporting by Yilei Sun and Adam JourdanRelated Video: Image Credit: Reuters Green Plants/Manufacturing Audi Volkswagen Skoda Electric Hybrid