Nio denies plans of taking over Audi's car plant in Belgium
Shortly after Audi announced its plans to close its car manufacturing facility in Brussels, Belgium, rumors started spreading that Nio is looking to acquire the factory. However, the company's CEO denied any such plans.
A report surfaced the other day claiming Nio will buy the factory after officials from the company visited the facility and submitted an offer. But after Nio's recent event unveiling the L60 under its sub-brand Onvo, William Li said the company is very cautious about acquiring fixed assets unless it's for battery-swapping stations.
Frankly, this isn't an outright denial of the company's plans but signals things aren't nearly certain.
Our best guess is that Nio is exploring other options as well in light of the EU's recent tariffs. Chinese carmakers are now scrambling to find manufacturing spots in Europe and start producing their vehicles on European soil to avoid import taxes. Nio, for example, already has a strong presence in some countries like Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden and Germany, but it doesn't have local manufacturing operations.
Audi, on the other hand, doesn't have much time. Its plan is to close its Brussels plant next year after the last Q8 e-tron rolls out of the production line, which in turn could lead to 2,910 people losing their jobs.
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