On 17 September, the Audi Group unveiled its new electric SUV, the "e-tron". This was a challenge for the German manufacturer as well as for the Forest plant, which underwent several modifications so it could produce this new model.
The announcement was made in San Francisco with great fanfare: Audi joins the electric SUV market. The Forest plant will be the production centre; this is a result for the former VW site, which was at the heart of the tensions some ten years ago.
It took two and a half years and 600 million euros to develop the Forest plant, which will be the only one to manufacture Audi's new luxury vehicle. The e-tron will take over from the A1, 900,000 of which have been produced since 2010. The change in infrastructure was a real challenge, as the assembly line had to continue to manufacture the small city car throughout the restructuring work.
The work carried out at Audi Brussels includes the construction of a new building to design battery casings. Every aspect of the assembly line was reviewed so that it could handle a much heavier model than the previous one. The German company also provided its personnel with the equivalent of 200,000 hours of training in electric technology. These major investments will guarantee stable employment in the business.
The e-tron will be sold for 80,000 euros in a new market segment that will see several stakeholders competing against each other.