Lack Of Request For Luxury Electric Cars, Audi Factory In Brussels Threatened To Close

Audi Factory in Brussels, Belgium. (Doc. Audi)

JAKARTA - Technological developments and climate change issues encourage increased public interest in environmentally friendly vehicles, such as electric cars. However, in the midst of this trend, an interesting phenomenon emerged: demand for luxury electric cars actually decreased, while demand for medium to low electric cars increased.

According to Reuters on Wednesday, July 10, Volkswagen stated that there is a potential closure of the Audi plant in Brussels, Belgium. This was triggered by a drastic drop in demand for luxury electric cars, which had an impact on Volkswagen as Audi's parent company.

According to a Reuters report, the factory's shutdown decision is the first for Volkswagen in nearly 4 decades. The plant has the potential to stop producing electric cars Audi Q8 e-tron by 2025.

Some of the factors behind this decision were due to the lack of demand for luxury electric cars such as the Audi Q8 e-tron which experienced a sharp decline. Meanwhile, car manufacturers such as Audi have poured large funds for the development of technology and production capacity of electric cars, but demand is not as expected.

In addition, the Audi factory in Brussels has limitations in changing its production layout because its location is close to residential areas and high logistics costs.

"Representatives of Audi AG employees call for a future perspective for our factories and colleagues in Brussels. Audi management must take responsibility for the location," said Rita Beck, a spokesperson for the Audi Committee at the European VW Group Working Board.

The closure of the plant is expected to have an impact on 3,000 employees and could cost Volkswagen 2.6 billion euros (approximately IDR 45.6 trillion) in fiscal year 2024. Currently, Audi is consulting to find alternative solutions for the plant, including a possible cessation of operations if no solutions are found.