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Audi looks to overtake BMW

December 27, 2013

German luxury carmaker Audi has announced a massive investment scheme for the next five years, taking its rivalry with BMW to a new level. The company said it also planned to create hundreds of additional jobs.

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Audi car before quality check
Image: picture-alliance/dpa

Ingolstadt-based auto-maker Audi said Friday it hoped to secure future growth through a massive investment program.

The company announced it would put aside a record sum of 22 billion euros ($30.4 billion) for the development of new technologies and models from between 2014 and 2018.

The Volkswagen subsidiary added more than half of the resources would go towards its German locations in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm.

High ambitions

The investment drive is in line with Audi's target of producing two million units annually by 2020.

Picture it! The Audi Future Lab: Engines of the Future

As early as mid-December 2013, the carmaker sold its 1.5 millionth vehicle, thus meeting its interim target some two years ahead of schedule.

In order to boost sales further at home and farther afield, Audi said it would extend its product range from 49 models at present to 60 models in a few years' time, with the Ingolstadt facility to produce the new Audi Q1 as of 2016. It said it eventually aimed to overtake domestic rival BMW in terms of annual sales figures.

The auto maker said hundreds of new jobs would be created in the years ahead, 1,000 of them in Mexico alone as Audi prepared the production of its Q5 SUV in that country.

hg/bk (Reuters, dpa)