Plant of São José dos Pinhais, at Paraná State, will assembly two models: Audi Q3 and Audi Q3 Sportback with the renowned 2.0 TFSI engine
- Electrification strategy: ultra-fast charging stations
- Local production history
- Brazilians Audi Q3 and Audi Q3 Sportback
Audi do Brasil confirms the restart of production at its plant in São José dos Pinhais, at Paraná State, as of mid-2022. The models chosen for the Brazilian assembly line are the Audi Q3 and the Audi Q3 Sportback, both with 2.0 engine and quattro technology. The announcement was made with the participation of Carlos Massa Ratinho Junior, Governor of the State of Paraná, Johannes Roscheck, CEO and President of Audi do Brasil, Abílio Oliveira, President of Assoaudi, and other authorities and representatives of the company.
For Ratinho Junior, Governor of the State of Paraná, “the announcement of the restart of production by Audi at its plant in São José dos Pinhais crowns the good moment for Paraná State, which is rapidly recovering from the impacts of the pandemic with the growth of the economy and job creation. We are proud to be the home of Audi in South America, which has brought us many achievements in recent decades”.
Johannes Roscheck, CEO and President of Audi do Brasil: “We are very happy to announce the restart of production at the plant of São José dos Pinhais, the only one of the brand in South America. Even in a challenging moment, the company has always worked to make national manufacturing feasible because we believe in the country’s potential and in the credibility that the brand gains in the eyes of our customers”.
The Audi Q3 with a 2.0 engine in its two bodies will be produced on an exclusive assembly line, the same one of the previous generation of the SUV until 2019. Both models will arrive at the port of Paranaguá divided into sets of parts from the plant at Györ, Hungary, for final assembly on Brazilian soil.
Electrification strategy: ultra-fast charging stations
In addition to confirming local production, Audi do Brasil, together with its dealerships, took the opportunity to make a second announcement, related to the brand’s electrification strategy in the country: in an unprecedented action, the four-ring company and its dealers teamed up to expand the Brazilian ultra-fast charging infrastructure.
As of 2022, more than R$ 20 million will be invested to install 150kW DC charging stations in almost all of the brand’s stores in Brazil. In these chargers, the 100% electric Audi e-tron, for example, recharges the battery from 0% to 80% in less than 25 minutes.
Local production history
Audi’s history of national manufacturing in Brazil began in 1999 with the inauguration of the São José dos Pinhais plant in Paraná, where the first generation of Audi A3 was nationally produced until 2006.
In 2012, the Brazilian government established Inovar-Auto, the Program of Incentive to Technological Innovation and Densification of the Production Chain of Motor Vehicles, and with it Audi do Brasil made the decision to produce in the country again. In that occasion, the company invested around 150 million euros, an amount close to R$500 million, in the plant in Paraná.
Production began in 2015 with the A3 Sedan – to date the only model with a flex engine made by Audi worldwide – and, in 2016, it also started producing the Q3. Manufacturing of the SUV continued until 2019, with the end of the life cycle of the previous generation, while the A3 Sedan was manufactured until 2020, also with the end of the generation life cycle.
After a hiatus of a little over a year, between the end of 2020 and mid-2022, Audi will once again assemble two models at the Paraná plant: the new Audi Q3 and Audi Q3 Sportback.
Brazilians Audi Q3 and Audi Q3 Sportback
The national Audi Q3 and Audi Q3 Sportback will have the renowned four-cylinder gasoline engine EA888 2.0 TFSI with direct injection and turbocharging, which delivers 350 Nm of torque and power of 231 hp. In addition, it is the first time in the country that Audi will assemble a model with quattro technology and an eight-speed tiptronic transmission to a vehicle with transverse engine, which provides fast and comfortable gear changes.
Since its launch in February 2020, the Audi Q3 became a reference in its segment and became Audi’s best-selling vehicle in Brazil already in its first year. Both incorporate the new design language of the Q family, presented in Brazil with the Audi Q8, a completely new model from the brand. In the front, one of the main highlights is the singleframe grille with octagonal design.
The interior complements the exterior design and follows the trend of the brand’s high-end models. As with the A6, A7, and Q8, the new Audi Q3 features the new MMI concept with 8.8″ touchscreen display integrated into the dashboard, which is tilted by 10 degrees toward the driver, ergonomically well located. The steering wheel with shift paddles is a series feature in the model.
Another highlight is the highly variable space distribution: the rear seats are sliding as standard and can be moved forward by 150 millimeters in the Q3 and 130 millimeters in the Q3 Sportback. And the trunk deserves a separate chapter: both Q3 and Q3 Sportback have 530 liters, the largest volume in its category. With the backrests fully folded down, the volume jumps to 1,525 liters in the Q3 and 1,400 liters in the Q3 Sportback.
SOURCE: Audi
Keyword: Audi do Brasil will restart production in 2022