Chinese carmakers want to buy the Audi plant in Belgium

NIO is one of the bidders and will send its offer to the Volkswagen group on Monday.

Photo by: Audi MediaCenter

By: Eleonora Lilli

Sep 20, 2024 at 4:51am ET

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The Volkswagen group is to close factories and it is the Chinese, who are very interested in production in Europe to get around the taxes on cars imported from China, who could buy them. On Monday 23 September, the German group will receive a purchase offer from NIO, which wants to buy the Audi plant in the Belgian town of Vorst, near Brussels.

The news was revealed by Belgian news agency De Tijd, which said that a delegation from NIO had visited the plant in recent weeks to evaluate the purchase.

End of the Q8 e-tron

The Volkswagen group had already decided to stop producing Audis at Vorst (the Q8 e-tron will be the last), and 2,910 jobs are at stake. Since the beginning of September, several demonstrations have taken place at the plant to protest against the closure. The Audi plant in Brussels was also the first German manufacturer to be declared 'Carbon Zero'.

The Audi factory in Belgium

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NIO, which is targeting Europe as well as other Chinese giants, could therefore use these assembly lines. Its cars (also under the ONVO and FireFly brands) are currently on sale in Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark, and this acquisition, if it goes ahead, could make its debut in Belgium.

The vote on 25 September

The EU vote on tariffs, scheduled for 25 September, will be an equally decisive turning point. In June, NIO expressed its opposition to additional European customs duties, while confirming its keen interest in selling cars in Europe. The Chinese carmaker is currently subject to a tax rate of 20.8%, in addition to the initial tax of 10%.