In the luxury car market, Audi is no doubt near the top of the list, but it still plays third fiddle to Mercedes-Benz and BMW, and Audi->ke14 is set to do something about that. For this the company announced it will invest a total of €13 billion - around $17 billion at the current exchange rates - through 2016. Most of these investments will be used to address the development of new products and technologies, as well as the construction of new plants.

From the $17 billion, a total of $13.9 billion will be invested in the development of new models and in the modernization of the current models in Audi’s lineup. This will include financing core areas of expertise, such as lightweight design/construction and electric mobility, and also in making regular engines even more efficient.

Most of the money will be invested in the German sites of Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm in the next five years, but also in the expansion of the site in Győr, Hungary.

All of these investments are part of Audi’s attempt to hit a sales number of more than two million vehicles annually by 2020 and to become the No. 1 premium brand in the world.

Click past the jump to read Audi's presser.

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