The new Audi Q7 is proving to be a big seller. Although it was only launched at the start of March, more than 16,000 customer orders have already been received. The Audi Q7 will have been launched in most European markets by the end of March, followed by the USA and China in June and all other markets in the second half of the year.

“The production lines are humming,” says Dr. Jochem Heizmann, Audi Board Member for Production. The plan is to step up production from the current 200 units a day to 300 by the early summer. Heizmann: “We will pull out all the stops in order to meet our customers’ expectations. Organisational measures already introduced – such as production throughout the holiday period or in three shifts – will enable us to reach this goal.” In the future, the annual production figure in a full year will be between 50,000 and 70,000 vehicles.

Built in Bratislava under Audi’s direction, the Audi Q7 – a third-generation SUV (sports utility vehicle) – sets new standards in the areas of design, performance, comfort, luxury and safety. Production of the new Audi Q7 is a genuine joint affair. Whereas final assembly of the SUV is taking place at an ultramodern plant in the Slovak capital of Bratislava, Audi’s German plants at Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm are supplying all key body elements, as well as a large number of its components. The power units for the Audi Q7 are being built at Audi’s Hungarian engine plant in Györ. A total of some 3,000 workers are involved in production of the Audi Q7 at the plant in Slovakia. A total investment in the triple-digit million euro range has been made in the vehicle’s production facilities.