Autoblog

Audi chooses San José Chiapa, Mexico for new North American plant

Seyth Miersma — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 17:59:00 EST

Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing, Crossover, Audi, Luxury

Audi has announced that it has settled on San José Chiapa, Mexico for its newest production facility in North America.

The new plant will house production for the successor to the current Audi Q5 after the facility is up and running in 2016. Expected annual output capacity is projected to be 150,000 units. Construction work on the plant buildings is slated to begin in mid 2013.

After declaring its intention to build a new factory in North America earlier this year, the German automaker reviewed more than a dozen locations before settling on the municipality in the Mexican state of Puebla. Overall site conditions, logistic links and infrastructure and a good supply of well-qualified employees were chief amongst the reasons for the selection of San José Chiapa. It also probably doesn't hurt that parent company Volkswagen already has a plant in the area.

Audi maintains that the Mexican plant will help it meet "key requirements" of its overall growth strategy through 2020, including steady product supply to the North American market.

Said Audi General Works Council Chairman, Peter Mosch, "The new location in Mexico will unlock further growth for us, and also protect capacity at the main plants." Mosch continued, "The latter will increasingly step into the role of lead plants for our technologies in developing modern production methods, using new materials and joining techniques, and with regard to electric mobility."

The San José Chiapa plant will bring VW's total facilities in Mexico to three - the automaker also maintains a plant in Silao. Scroll down to read the official press release.

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Audi chooses San José Chiapa, Mexico for new North American plant originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 04 Sep 2012 17:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Audi headed south of the border, down Mexico way, for new SUV plant

Jeff Sabatini — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing, Audi, Volkswagen

No surprises here. On a day in which Audi has dominated the news - by buying Ducati and unveiling a new concept for the Beijing auto show - it completes the hat trick by announcing that its new factory will be built in Mexico. Production is slated to begin in 2016, but Audi only announced that the plant would be building "an SUV model." Speculating on which that might be, we imagine it would make sense for one of the brand's high-volume nameplates to be built here in North America, which would point to the Q5.

Audi parent Volkswagen already operates facilities in the Mexican cities of Puebla and Silao, so the company is intimately familiar with the nuances of building cars in the country. That should help in getting the facility up to speed quickly, although Audi board members emphasized finding the right location in Mexico in their statement announcing the decision.

Audi also said it could supply vehicles from Mexico worldwide, and reiterated its goal of selling two million vehicles each year by 2020. That, of course, is part of Volkswagen's stated intent of becoming the world's largest carmaker by the end of this decade.

Continue reading Audi headed south of the border, down Mexico way, for new SUV plant

Audi headed south of the border, down Mexico way, for new SUV plant originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 18 Apr 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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These are North America's top producing auto plants

Zach Bowman — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:01:00 EST

Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, Toyota, Volkswagen

Volkswagen has the honor of being this year's top producing North American automotive manufacturer by a wide margin with its Puebla, Mexico facility. The factory managed to produce 510,041 units last year, beating out second-place Nissan and its Aguascalientes, Mexico plant by a staggering 149,245 units, according to Ward's Auto. Nissan jumped from third to second place after Toyota and its Georgetown plant dropped from the top five. Toyota and Honda both saw themselves ousted from the leader board after a year pockmarked by disruptions from earthquake and tsunami activity in Japan and flooding in Thailand.

The Japanese automakers' vacancies made room for Hyundai and its facility in Montgomery, Alabama with 338,127 units to take fourth place. Ford, meanwhile, moved from fifth in 2010 to third in 2011 with 344,446 units from its Dearborn Truck plant. Nissan rounded out the top five last year with the company's plant in Smyrna, Tennessee taking the automaker's second spot on the list.

Ward's Auto reports Volkswagen enjoyed a boost from the popularity of the Jetta. That model alone helped push the company's Puebla facility to a 75,356 unit gain over last year's figures. Head over to Ward's to see the full report.

These are North America's top producing auto plants originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2012 Volkswagen Beetle production gets underway in Mexico

Jeff Glucker — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 09:27:00 EST

Filed under: Coupe, Volkswagen

Like many a Beetle before it, Volkswagen has prepped its newest escarabajo to begin running down production facilities in Mexico. Located in Puebla, Volkswagen de México serves as one of the nation's largest employers, with a workforce of over 15,000 folks. The Puebla facility served as a major manufacturer of the preceding New Beetle, turning out 1.5 million units between 1997 and 2010. Now, the factory worker's wrenches are set to bring the updated version to life.

Click past the jump for the full press release.

Continue reading 2012 Volkswagen Beetle production gets underway in Mexico

2012 Volkswagen Beetle production gets underway in Mexico originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 22 Jul 2011 09:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AB Road Trip: Crossing Mexico on the trail of La Carrera Panamericana in a Mercedes SLS AMG

Chris Paukert — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 12:09:00 EST

Filed under: Classics, Coupe, Performance, Mercedes-Benz, South America

From Puebla to Oaxaca on the trail of La Carrera Panamericana in a Mercedes SLS AMG - Click above for high-res image gallery

With the increasingly well-publicized progression of drug wars, ransomings, robberies and, well, murders in Mexico, I thought it sensible to familiarize myself with the various government tourist advisory messages ahead of a trip retracing part of the route of La Carrera Panamericana, the famed Mexican road race that ran from 1950 to 1955. Regarded by many as the toughest and most dangerous race ever to take place, the perils of our run down memory lane were likely to be rather different than what was encountered in the '50s. Here are some excerpts of what we were told to expect:

o. "Toll (cuota) highways should be used whenever possible, rather than less secure free (libre) roads, where armed robberies and carjacking are more frequent."
o. "Large fire fights have taken place in many towns and cities across Mexico."
o. "U.S. citizen visitors are encouraged to stay in the well-known tourist areas."
o. "Mexican styles of driving and road safety standards are very different from those in North America. Police do not regularly patrol the highways. Be prepared for vehicles that fail to observe speed limits or indicate lane changes, and that do not stop at red lights."
o. "Thefts occur regularly. You should dress down, avoid wearing or carrying expensive jewelry, and carry only small amounts of cash... try to blend in."
o. "Be careful accepting food, drinks, invitations or rides from strangers or recent acquaintances."
o. "Road conditions vary and can be poor in some areas. Dangerous curves, poorly marked signs and construction sites, roaming livestock, slow-moving or abandoned vehicles, and other obstacles pose hazards."
o. "You are also strongly advised against borrowing a vehicle... drivers are legally responsible for their vehicle's contents, as well as for the legal status of passengers and the items carried by passengers."

Thankfully for you, dear reader, we aren't terribly proficient at heeding warnings, so a Mercedes-Benz invitation to borrow their spanking new (and clearly utterly inconspicuous) gullwing SLS AMG supercar and drive it through Mexico at a high rate of speed seemed downright reasonable and prudent. It also appeared to be an absurd amount of fun. Follow the jump to find out how it all shook out.

Gallery: Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG La Carrera Panamericana Road Trip

Continue reading AB Road Trip: Crossing Mexico on the trail of La Carrera Panamericana in a Mercedes SLS AMG

AB Road Trip: Crossing Mexico on the trail of La Carrera Panamericana in a Mercedes SLS AMG originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 05 Apr 2010 12:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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REPORT: VW chooses Mexican plant for new compact sedan

Michael Harley — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:30:00 EST

Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing, Volkswagen, South America

Volkswagen Jetta 2.5 Special Edition - Click above for hi-res image gallery

Adding a vote of confidence to Mexico's struggling auto industry, Volkswagen has announced that it will begin assembly of a new compact car (working title "New Compact Sedan") in the country next year.

The German automaker will invest about $1 billion in the program, with $400 million of the funds directed towards a new assembly line at its plant in Puebla. The facility currently produces Jetta and New Beetle models - in 2008, a record 450,000 units were produced with about 80 percent of the volume exported.

The news follows the report last year, when Volkswagen announced a $1 billion investment in Chattanooga, Tennessee, to begin production of a mid-size sedan for the North American market. With a capacity of 150,000 vehicles, the Chattanooga assembly plant is scheduled to open in 2011.

Gallery: 2008 Volkswagen Jetta 2.5 Special Editon

[Source: Automotive News, subs. req'd]

REPORT: VW chooses Mexican plant for new compact sedan originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mexican Volkswagen workers strike

Erin Mays — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 18:01:00 EST

Filed under: Trends, Volkswagen, Earnings/Financials

Volkswagen's 9,700 hourly employees at its Puebla, Mexico plant have a beef with their German employer over pay. After rejecting Volkswagen's August 17 offer of a four percent raise in pay, workers left their jobs this morning to strike, holding out for the 8.5 percent raise they put onto the table.

The vote over the 4 percent raise was a close one, at 54 to 46 percent rejecting the proposal, indicating that the strike will likely be short-lived and the situation will be resolved quickly. Another round of negotiations are taking place this afternoon.

Despite the strike's potential to be short, it will still be a relatively substantial hit to production -- the plant currently works around the clock five days a week and produces 1,450 units, including 350 New Beetles per day, according to Reuters.

[Source: Reuters via Automotive News]

Mexican Volkswagen workers strike originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 18 Aug 2006 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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