Boss denies Chinese Nio is interested in Audi Brussels (update)

According to the Flemish newspaper De Tijd, the Chinese car manufacturer Nio could be one of the candidates interested in taking over the Audi Brussels plant. However, NIO boss and founder William Li denies this. BYD is also rumored to be an interested party, and Belgium VW importer D’Ieteren which initially owned the factory before Volkswagen.

A Nio delegation has visited the plant in Forest (southwest of Brussels) and is tinkering with an offer. Apparently, says De Tijd, this has to reach VW Group headquarters before Monday.

No solutions anymore for the VW Group

According to Audi Board Member for Production Gerd Walker, the Ingolstadt-based car manufacturer no longer sees any use for its factory in Brussels and is, therefore, now looking for an investor. Audi is currently building the electric Q8 e-tron there, but its next generation will roll off the production line in Mexico.

“The company has intensively examined various options for the site and discussed them with the employees,” said Walker, according to the German newspaper Handelsblatt on Tuesday.

“We are now concentrating on the joint working group and the search for potential investors, always in open and constructive dialogue with the social partners.” He added that no final decision was made on the site’s future.

The search for an investor does not come as a surprise. Audi had already confirmed at the beginning of the month that it would not be outsourcing any more models to the Belgian plant in Brussels, nor would any other brand from the VW Group. There is no lifeline for the crisis-ridden plant, at least not from within the Group.

As Volkswagen has recently no longer ruled out closing plants in Germany, it is implausible that the Wolfsburg-based company or another Group brand will build a new model in Brussels while a plant is closed in Germany.

Chinese interest

This means the plant and its employees can only hope for an external investor or another car manufacturer to take over the plant. In August, the unions reported that an investor had expressed interest in Audi in the factory and some staff but not in the car production line.

VW is also said to have considered using some of its employees to establish battery production for other Group plants. However, according to Audi Board Member for Production Gerd Walker, this idea has now been canceled.

In come the Chinese. As already reported, a delegation from car manufacturer Nio has visited the factory lately and shown interest. Nio is a young but very ambitious Chinese car manufacturer that stands out of the crowd with its battery-swapping formula.

Recently, the Chinese manufacturing giant BYD has also shown some interest in a second European plant. It already builds electric buses in Hungary and is also building a car assembly plant near its bus plant in Szeged (Hungary).

Of course, European plans to heavily increase import tariffs on electric vehicles made in China have urged several Chinese players to seek production accommodation in Europe more quickly.

Nio most concrete, but the boss denies

Nio’s plans seem the most concrete. The very young but ambitious Chinese manufacturer of premium cars has been present in certain European countries like Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, and the Netherlands for several years but hasn’t been very successful yet.

A plant like the one in Brussels would suit them well. It’s modern, relatively small, and one of the first to be completely CO2-neutral. Having been the pilot factory for Audi’s electric car manufacturing process, its skilled personnel have extensive expertise. And the fact that the plant is ready to produce is, of course, a significant advantage.

While Nio is currently, in essence, a premium carmaker, producing more luxurious high-end models would probably suit Brussels most. In any case, the Chinese car manufacturers are momentarily the only ones seeking additional car-building capacity in Europe. All the others, especially the European companies, are considering reducing their capacity and closing factories.

Yesterday, Nio reacted to the persistent rumors. It denied that it has plans to take over the Audi Brussels car plant in the Brussels commune of Vorst/Forest.

William Li, founder, chairman, and CEO of the Chinese electric car manufacturer, said Nio has no plans to take over the Audi plant and is cautious about investing in fixed assets, except for battery swap stations.

“How can Nio afford a factory that Audi can’t afford? The rumors are groundless,” Li said in a media communication today after last night’s launch of the L60, the first model of the sub-brand Onvo.

D’Ieteren

The independent Belgian automotive player D’Ieteren, also the importer of all VW Group brands and other makes, has also shown some interest in Audi Brussels. Its plans are to make a ‘reconditioning center’ for used cars in the factory. This would save approximately  500 jobs of the almost 3,000 threatened to get lost.

Reconditioning used cars and reselling them with a guarantee is becoming a booming business. The multi-make ‘car supermarket’ Cardoen has already opened a reconditioning facility for all its cars at its headquarters in Aartselaar, near Antwerp.

The question remains whether D’Ieteren wants to pursue this new investment alone. It will probably need other interested parties to get involved in the activities.