December 17, 2024 – Volkswagen Group is currently mulling over the closure of its plant in Germany, while its subsidiary brand, Audi, has already made the decision to shut down its Brussels factory in Belgium. The plant is slated to cease operations by the end of February next year, resulting in the discontinuation of two models, the Q8 e-tron and Q8 e-tron Sportback, from its product line.
According to foreign media outlet motor1, the decision to close the factory was prompted by the underwhelming sales of these two large electric SUVs, which failed to generate sufficient demand to keep the plant running.
Audi had attempted to sell the factory, but the effort was unsuccessful. Gerd Walker, Audi’s head of production, expressed his emotion, stating, “The decision to close the Brussels factory was a painful one. Personally, it was the most difficult decision of my career.”
Rumors had circulated in September that Chinese electric vehicle maker NIO was interested in acquiring the plant. However, NIO CEO Li Bin quickly dismissed these rumors, stating, “It’s not true. We haven’t approached Audi.” He joked that if Audi couldn’t afford to keep the factory running, NIO certainly couldn’t.
The Q8 e-tron, originally launched in 2018 as simply the e-tron, marked Audi’s first globally mass-produced electric vehicle. Roughly a year later, the coupe version, the Q8 e-tron Sportback, was released. In late 2022, both models underwent a mid-cycle update and were renamed with the Q8 prefix. Production of the Q8-branded electric SUVs began at the Brussels factory in December 2022. According to company spokesperson Peter D’hoore, the final vehicle is scheduled to roll off the assembly line on February 28, 2025.
In 2023, Audi sold 49,001 units of the Q8 e-tron, a decrease of 4.3% compared to the previous year. However, with the Brussels plant capable of producing 120,000 vehicles annually, it was clear that these two electric SUVs were not meeting the production scale necessary to sustain the factory’s operations. The plant, which employs approximately 3,000 people, was established in 1949 and holds the distinction of being the world’s first carbon-neutral mass production plant in the luxury car segment.
