Nio Considering To Buy Audi Plant In Belgium To Avoid EU Tariffs

Chinese EV manufacturer Nio is considering purchasing an Audi facility in Belgium as part of its plan to locate production in Europe and stay out of trouble with European Commission tariffs on Chinese electric vehicle imports.

Citing reliable sources De Tijd, The Brussels Times reported that a delegation from the Shanghai-based electric car manufacturer visited the plant recently and is getting ready to submit a tender offer to the Volkswagen Group by Monday, September 23.

It intends to use the entire factory for car assembly in Europe, avoiding the newly imposed import duties on Chinese-made vehicles, which are added to the existing 10% tariff. However, the carmaker has since denied having any interest in the plant. CEO William Li recently told the media that the company "can't afford" a factory that Audi itself cannot sustain, calling the rumors "groundless," as reported by CnEVPost. Audi, which hasn't been doing so well lately, is actively looking for a buyer for the plant. The company sent its almost 3,000-person workforce home unpaid after they refused to come back to work because they wanted guarantees of future job security and higher salaries.

The carmaker is presently producing the Q8 E-Tron in Brussels, but sales of the model aren't nearly as strong as Audi had anticipated, so it may decide to halt production before schedule.

To make matters worse, the plant is located in a residential area near the city center, making expansion or layout changes difficult. This, combined with high labour and logistics costs, has resulted in higher production costs than other Audi production sites.

Furthermore, Audi no longer sees a need for this specific manufacturing location, and the replacement electric Q8 won't be produced in Belgium; instead, production will shift to Mexico and China.

That being said, Nio is not the only Chinese automaker aiming to produce vehicles in Europe for regional markets. BYD, SAIC Motor and Chery are among the Chinese carmakers that continue to expand in Europe despite tariff challenges.
Last year, the company debuted its new showroom, NIO House Amsterdam, the largest NIO House in Europe. As of May 23, 2024, the EV manufacturer's ES8, ET7, EL7, ET5, ET5T, and EL6 models are available in Europe.
The company has built 43 battery swap stations and 46 charging stations, as well as connecting more than 500,000 third-party chargers.
Despite the efforts, Nio, which landed in the European market in 2021 has not seen a significant increase in sales. The automaker might be able to gain traction by purchasing the factory, especially given that the European Union is still enforcing its tariffs. In addition to the standard 10% import tax for all EVs, Nio is currently subject to a 20.7% tax.