sportbacks made in Belgium

musicegbdf

musicegbdf

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OK I guess not much news to many . I did not realise. Not that it should make any difference. I just spotted this .
I was thinking about my order (that's what waiting does for you !) and wondering how do they produce cars. Do they say OK Monday we will make 170 BHP quattro's , Then Tues we will make 2.0 TSI 's , and then have these move to the body shop where they say OK today we are making Ibis white cars, then in move onto the interior dept and they say OK today we make Sport editions ?? Or does each car move along the production line and get it's spec...? Maybe a mix of both ??

It was then I found that Sportbacks are made in Belgium...

Sad isn't it what waiting does to you ..

My friend made a factory order from Citroen three weeks ago and can pick up his car tomorrow !
Citroen kept him in touch all the way telling him it was being made in Spain , when it arrived in the UK , and when it arrived at the dealership....

But then it is a Citroen Berlingo !

:sadlike:
 
i have also an sportback in order - signed the papers 29. september and it should be delievered on the 17th of november.

kinda bummed thoug over it was made in belgium, would have liked it to be made in germany
 
They'll build it as much "to order", JIT as possible I'd guess. Just In Time will save them as much money as possible, with the least committed resources all the way down the line. Although JIT implies actioning the order as close to need-by-date as possible Audi will still have to forecast to their suppliers well in advance. Which is why the lead times go so far out when they get their forecasts wrong, as they have. The suppliers can only produce against the forecasted demand, ramping up is difficult. It just takes one supplier to be out of sync and Audi can't pull-in, their build programme is all out of whack and you get 8 month LT on Black Edition Audis.....

As for made in Belgium rather than Germany, who gives a flying monkey's twizzler? Perceived quality is not the same as actual, it's just a marketing tool.
 
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you should watch mega factories... they had audi on there.. all high end car manufacturers "i beleive" run every car (a3's) through the same line.. no matter whether its a standard se or an s-line... most factories are fully automated with robots and stuff.. people are there to make sure all is correct and do the odd bits by hand...

ive seen the Porche factory on this programme and also the ferrari plant.. amazing.. although i did miss the Audi one!
 
A3's are mostly made at the Audi Ingolstadt plant north of Munich. The plant in Belgium was taken over by Audi from VW for the production of the A1. Before the A1 went into full scale production it was used to produce some A3s. The 11th letter of the VIN number tells you where it was made - A=Ingolstadt B=Belgium.

A3s are not produced in batches but with all sorts of models and engine types for all the different markets being produced one after the other on the final assembly line with the computer system ensuring that all the right 'bits' arrive at the appropriate place on the assembly line at the correct time.

If you are ever in Germany, go for a tour of the Ingolstadt plant. It's a great place.
 
When I worked at Ford I used to do factory stuff all the time and it is amazing. It's all JIT, with conveyor belts of engines, components, etc. all arriving at exactly the right time for the vehicle. There is no batching at all.
I worked for a bit at the Genk plant in Belgium where they build the Mondeo, S-Max and Galaxy and they came down the line in any order they liked. The guys doing the interiors just picked up whatever part was next on the rack and plonked it in. Awesome.
 
It's all good as long as they get their forecasts right, otherwise there's nothing to feed the line. I was told Audi seriously overestimated the negative impact of the recession on demand.
 
Been on a few visits to Toyota in Derby, they really know how to make a factory work! Amzing stuff
 
h5djr said:
A3's are mostly made at the Audi Ingolstadt plant north of Munich. The plant in Belgium was taken over by Audi from VW for the production of the A1. Before the A1 went into full scale production it was used to produce some A3s. The 11th letter of the VIN number tells you where it was made - A=Ingolstadt B=Belgium.

A3s are not produced in batches but with all sorts of models and engine types for all the different markets being produced one after the other on the final assembly line with the computer system ensuring that all the right 'bits' arrive at the appropriate place on the assembly line at the correct time.

If you are ever in Germany, go for a tour of the Ingolstadt plant. It's a great place.
Click to expand...
Many thks. Here is the link Audi Worldwide > Company > Production plants , maybe you are right that now Sportbacks are not produced there any more, could this also be part of the delay problem if Ingolstadt has also had to take on sportback production as well... Realtor wow that is quick....must be the fastest factory order yet..
 
i told the sales rep. that i did not want to wait, so he managed to change a car that they already had in the system, otherwise i had to wait until feb/2011, and then the order had gone to munich instead...

but when the car comes to denmark, it is being rebuild ( having the rear seats taken out ) to make it as a van, so i can save som taxes. In denmark we pay 25% tax and the car, and... hold on... 180% registration fee on the car. But as a van i only have to pay 50% ( so 130% saved win win ).
 
Ahhh , thought you were in the UK..

Wow I thought our taxes were bad..
 
yeah ours are messed up, and then we pay 50-60% income tax, talking about being dped.. :(

my little audi costs 26.000 punds, and if it wanted it with backseats it would be 42.000 punds

a s3 is around 80.000 punds with backseats, and yeah a S8 is running close to 300.000 pounds :p
 
h5djr said:
A3's are mostly made at the Audi Ingolstadt plant north of Munich. The plant in Belgium was taken over by Audi from VW for the production of the A1. Before the A1 went into full scale production it was used to produce some A3s. The 11th letter of the VIN number tells you where it was made - A=Ingolstadt B=Belgium.

A3s are not produced in batches but with all sorts of models and engine types for all the different markets being produced one after the other on the final assembly line with the computer system ensuring that all the right 'bits' arrive at the appropriate place on the assembly line at the correct time.

If you are ever in Germany, go for a tour of the Ingolstadt plant. It's a great place.
Click to expand...


I concur. I did the production compact tour at Ingolstadt in September. The chassis is built by robots, but as soon as the chassis is painted, everything after is built by hand on a rolling style production line. No two A3s on the production line are ever identical.
 
Realtor said:
yeah ours are messed up, and then we pay 50-60% income tax, talking about being dped.. :(

my little audi costs 26.000 punds, and if it wanted it with backseats it would be 42.000 punds

a s3 is around 80.000 punds with backseats, and yeah a S8 is running close to 300.000 pounds :p
Click to expand...

People moan about rip off Britain but they should try it abroad sometimes. My parents-in-law live in France and have just bought their LHD secondhand car in the UK as it is cheaper over here!!! My brother who live in Holland pays 4 times the road tax I do.

A 5p difference in the price of fuels really doesn't mean anything in those circumstances.
 
Realtor said:
yeah ours are messed up, and then we pay 50-60% income tax, talking about being dped.. :(

my little audi costs 26.000 punds, and if it wanted it with backseats it would be 42.000 punds

a s3 is around 80.000 punds with backseats, and yeah a S8 is running close to 300.000 pounds :p
Click to expand...


For real? Wowwwwwwwwww! Ouch :faint:
 
that is why our roads are full of vw golf mk2 and little **** cars like C1, Aygo and Swift. Futhermore insurance is wicked due to the high car prices. My upcomming A3 will be around 2000 pounds yearly
 
VWAddict said:
I think I posted this last year...

YouTube - Audi Brussels Factory - A3 Production & A1 Concept

Mind you, A Belgian robot is just as precise as a German robot, I'm certain. -I couldn't care WHERE it's built ;my Sportback was built before the Belgian line came onstream, but I wouldn't have cared if it had been a Belgian one.

Keith
Click to expand...
Ahh that was interesting... Thks. Now I am wondering how they get to the UK. I know the German ones come in to Sheerness , I suppose the Belgians ones do as well. I wonder if they send them to the same load port. I expect they rail them there...
 
Audi's destine for The South and South West come in to Sheerness but those for the Midlands and North come in to Immingham near Grimsby. They are all sent from the plants in Germany to Bremerhaven in Northern Germany by rail, but it would seem a bit of a long way round to send cars destined for the UK that have been made in Brussels all the way up to Bremmerhaven.
 
mine , which is being built week 44 w/c 31/10/10 shows car coming into Sheerness according to the screen dump i received from the dealer . Does anyone know the timings from build / shipment / arrival / delivery etc , thanks .
 
i talked to my dealer tuesday, and he confirmed that the car was on the way to denmark. reg.nr and reading from the link posted above, it was build in Ingolstadt
 
If it is a 3 door then yes it was made in Germany. If it is a sportback seems they are made in Belgium.
not that it matters, am sure it will be just as good.
 
no it is a sportback, and accordingly the vin number the productioncountry is A or ingollstadt.
 
I purchased my Sportback in May 2009 when the Brussels plant was only making Sportbacks rather than any A1s and mine was also built in Ingolstadt. The situation is still the same today. Some Sportbacks are made at the Brussels plant and some at the Ingolstadt plant.
 
Does it really matter if it's made in Germany or Belgium? Many fine things are made in Belgium, waffles, moulles frites, Tintin, the smurfs, chocolate and guns.
 
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palexr said:
Does it really matter if it's made in Germany or Belgium? Many fine things are made in Belgium, waffles, moulles frites, Tintin, the smurfs, chocolate and guns.
Click to expand...

Not at all. The cars are designed in Germany and to German standards and I'm sure the inspection and quality control will be of the same standard at all Audi plants.
 
h5djr said:
I purchased my Sportback in May 2009 when the Brussels plant was only making Sportbacks rather than any A1s and mine was also built in Ingolstadt. The situation is still the same today. Some Sportbacks are made at the Brussels plant and some at the Ingolstadt plant.
Click to expand...

Ohh that is interesting. Of course it doesn't matter really where they are made. I have seen that the new Q3 will be made in Spain. I was just curious as mine with be made in two weeks time , so maybe it will come from Ingolstadt. I guess they are flexible depending on demand...
 
well, when i buy a german car i expect it to be build in germany.

I have had a Seat Altea 2,0 TDI FR, and though it was pretty much made out of VW/Audi parts, the build quality was terrible, since it was made in spain. Sqeuak noises everywhere, gaps in the plastic, paint mistakes etc.
 
Realtor said:
well, when i buy a german car i expect it to be build in germany.

I have had a Seat Altea 2,0 TDI FR, and though it was pretty much made out of VW/Audi parts, the build quality was terrible, since it was made in spain. Sqeuak noises everywhere, gaps in the plastic, paint mistakes etc.
Click to expand...

The problem with the Seat is just that, it's made by Seat. They may use many of the same parts but a lot of it is down to the final assembly. A Seat is assembled by Seat and an Audi is assembled by Audi. Obviously Seat do not have the same standards and quality control as Audi. Almost all the engines that go into an Audi are build at the Gyor plant in Hungary and therefore not in Germany.

A Seat is not a German car - it's a Spannish one with some German components.
 
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