Audi plans extra shifts at German plant as A6, A7 orders rise
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Audi cars wait to be transported outside the Neckarsulm plant. |
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FRANKFURT (Bloomberg) -- Audi added 12 extra shifts in the first quarter at its plant in Neckarsulm, Germany, and is planning more in April due to strong demand for the A6 and A7 models.
Audi built about 2,600 more cars in Neckarsulm than initially planned in the quarter, personnel director Thomas Sigi said.
Neckarsulm is Audi's second-largest plant after its main factory in Ingolstadt.
Robust order intake for the German automaker underscores the resilience of the luxury-car segment, compared with the shrinking total market in Europe.
U.S. sales of the A6 and A7 and their "S" performance versions have risen 18 percent this year, to 3,915 units.
Audi is targeting an increase in revenue and deliveries this year on demand for its expanding SUV lineup and the new-generation A3 model, the company said March 12. The world's second-biggest maker of luxury vehicles wants to nab the top spot from BMW by the end of the decade.
Audi will invest 11 billion euros ($14.2 billion) by 2015 to increase production and widen its model lineup in pursuit of BMW and is expanding a plant in Hungary and opening a new factory later in 2013 in Foshan, China.
Economic conditions remained "difficult" though in the first three months of the year, Sigi said in a statement on Thursday.
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