German automaker Audi started up a Mexican plant in the city of San José Chiapa in the state of Puebla, the company announced. The facility has capacity to produce 150,000 SUVs and should generate 4,200 jobs by the end of the year.
As Audi’s first facility in the North American continent, the San José Chiapa plant will produce the new generation of the Audi Q5 for the export market; the company received over EUR 1 billion in investments.
Additionally, Audi also launched a supplier park, which is adjacent to the production site. Seven suppliers and logistics providers started operations at the supplier park, the company announced.
Audi said the JIS park (Just In Sequence) “guarantees” short distances from the suppliers’ buildings to the assembly line and allows “punctual delivery” of components for the SUV model being produced at the site.
According to Audi, it is sourcing over 70 percent of the parts it needs from the NAFTA region and plans to increase such a proportion “over the long term.”
“In total, more than 100 companies already supply parts for the Audi Q5 from sites in Mexico,” the company said.
“The plant in Mexico is a milestone in the history of our company and an important step in our internationalization,” said the company’s chairman of the board of management, Rupert Stadler.