BRAZIL - Audi confirms that production has begun at the new Curitiba plant with the A3 Saloon, then the Q3 later.

• Board of Management Member for Procurement Dr. Bernd Martens: “We will utilize the potential of high added value in Brazil”
• First Audi worldwide with flex-fuel engine
• Audi Q3 soon to also be produced in Curitiba

AUDI AG has started production in Curitiba in the Brazilian federal state of Parana. The latest of thirteen sites in the Audi production network is the first in South America.

“We see great potential in the Brazilian market. Our goal there is to maintain our leading position in the premium segment over the long term,” stated Dr. Bernd Martens, Board of Management Member for Procurement at AUDI AG. 

“On our global growth path, we will also utilize the potential of high added value in Brazil. So as well as the Audi A3 Sedan, we will soon also produce the Audi Q3 in Curitiba and will procure as many components as possible locally.”

The Audi A3 Sedan 1.4 TFSI Flex produced in Curitiba is the first Audi model with a flex-fuel engine. These engines can operate on gasoline, ethanol or both fuels at the same time. Brazil is the world’s biggest market for flex-fuel engines. 

More than 90 percent of cars newly registered are fitted with this technology. Audi will deliver to customers the first A3 models with the 1.4 TFSI flex-fuel engine in November 2015. 

“With local production of the Audi A3 Sedan and – a few months later – the Audi Q3, we will be ideally positioned to fulfill the wishes of our Brazilian customers” stated Jörg Hofmann, CEO of Audi do Brasil. “

Since the market launch of the A3 Sedan in 2014, we have doubled our sales volume in Brazil and are the market leader in this segment. This is a strong confirmation that we have chosen the right model for Curitiba.”

Audi is continuing along its path of international expansion with the plant in Brazil. In 2016, the brand with the Four Rings will open a second Audi plant in the Americas, in San José Chiapa, Mexico.