Audi appears to be reviewing plans to save the Neckarsulm site, which has been threatened with closure. According to reports citing sources close to the company, the discussion involves a possible reduction in annual production capacity from the current 225,000 units down to 150,000. This site was already reduced as part of a 2019 cost-saving program, when its annual production volume was around 300,000 vehicles.
To preserve the plant, further cost reduction measures targeting the overlapping structures between Neckarsulm and Ingolstadt are being considered. Both locations currently maintain separate accounting departments, HR functions, and technical development units. Insiders estimate that streamlining these duplicate structures could lead to savings of up to 1,000 jobs.
Furthermore, the main plant in Ingolstadt is also being looked at as a way to help save Neckarsulm. Executives suggest that Audi could lower overall operating costs by reducing capacities at Ingolstadt. Initial assessments propose cutting production at the main Ingolstadt facility from 450,000 vehicles to just under 400,000 annually. Collectively, these moves would reduce total production at German Audi sites to slightly over half a million vehicles, nearly halving the output achieved in 2019.
The Audi Neckarsulm location came under pressure as part of Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blume’s planned cost-cutting initiatives. Blume has questioned the future of several VW plants-including those in Zwickau, Emden, Hannover, and Audi’s Neckarsulm facility-in addition to those involving 55,000 to 70,000 jobs.
