The Mexican unit of the German automaker Audi, the ninth largest vehicle manufacturer in the country, began investing €1 billion ($1.08 billion) in its plant located in the central Mexican state of Puebla for the production of electric vehicles, which will represent greater steel consumption.
“Audi has made explicit interest in joining the state 's electromobility hub by signing an investment manifesto for €1 billion,” said the governor of Puebla, Sergio Salomón Céspedes, at a press conference.
In 2023, Audi was the ninth largest vehicle producer in Mexico with more than 175,000 units, a volume that represented 4.6 percent of the 3.80 million units manufactured by the 13 manufacturers installed in the country. When considering the production of Audi and Volkswagen, they would be the third largest manufacturer with 13.9 percent of the total, only surpassed by Nissan's 16.3 percent and the leader General Motors' 19.1 percent.
According to the press release, the executive president of Audi Mexico, Tarek Mashhour, the investment is already flowing because they are already installing the infrastructure and equipment to produce the Audi Q8 Sportback e-tron sport utility vehicle (SUV).
According to the Mexican Association of the Automotive Industry (AMIA), which brings together the largest vehicle producers in the country, Mexico currently only produces three electric vehicles: the Ford Mustang Mach-E and two from General Motors: Chevrolet Blazer EV and the Equinox EV.