Audi to decide on German battery production in next 1-2 years

BERLIN -- Audi will decide in the next year or two whether to build batteries for its electric-car program in Germany, CEO Rupert Stadler said.

Audi's labor leaders have urged management to invest in battery-cell technology and to assemble powerpacks at the two core factories in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm, where r&d operations and two thirds of the 91,000 workforce are based.

"We have not yet taken a decision on this matter,” Stadler told journalists after the brand's annual news conference on Thursday.

Audi has set up battery-making facilities in Brussels where the automaker will start making the all-electric e-tron SUV this year.

Audi has said it will build a four-door electric sports car in Germany starting in 2020. The e-tron GT, which will be shown in concept form later this year, will be the third model in Audi's range of full-electric cars after the e-tron Sportback, which is due next year

The e-tron compact SUV and e-tron "Sports Activity Vehicle" will both follow in 2020.

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