Audi plans to produce A1 in Brazil

by Viviane Biondo

The studies for Audi production in Brazil are at an advanced stage. According to sources very close to the company, the vehicle manufacturer should produce the next generation of the A1 model - its entry-level vehicle - as the industrial unit in São José dos Pinhais, PR, where it would share production with Volkswagen starting in 2016. According to the same source, the vehicle's platform would be the new A-Entry, the evolution from the PQ25, which equips the current Audi A1 and VW Polo in Europe. The platform, which is simpler and offers lower costs, should be shared among the new Volkswagen models, such as the new Santana, and even the Fox, which is scheduled to change in 2016.
Officially, however, Audi's senior management says only that it is studying the viability of producing locally once again. Leandro Radomile, president of Audi in Brazil, stated a few days ago that the decisions about the next steps for the operation in the country should be made by April.
Radomile confirmed, "One of the strongest possibilities is the production at the Volkswagen plant in the state of Paraná, since it is easier to adapt an existing line than building a completely new one."
As a result, the unit in São José dos Pinhais, PR, would produce the new Fox family and the Audi A1, leaving the new generation of the Golf, which shares the platform with the Audi A3, to Mexico - VW officially confirmed the production of the latter in that country.