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“The Q3 production is an example
of how we are making use of synergies within the Group,”
stresses Frank Dreves, Board Member for Production at AUDI AG.
“The Martorell factory is an extremely productive facility with
a highly skilled workforce, and one that meets the exacting
quality standards of our brand. The Q3 definitely gets the Audi
seal of approval.”
The decision to build the Audi Q3
in Spain signals the Ingolstadt-based carmaker’s intention to
continue its dynamic course of growth while also pursuing a
strategy of internationalization. In choosing Martorell as the
new production site, Audi is also taking on an important social
responsibility, for both the region and the workforce. The
Company provides approximately 1,500 jobs at the plant,
including 700 newly created positions. Special emphasis was
placed on training the workforce. All staff have completed a
176-hour program designed specifically for the Q3 to prepare
them for the challenges they will be faced with on the
production line.
The Company has created the
optimum conditions for the latest offspring in its broad product
line-up: A new body shop featuring 450 state-of-the-art robots
was erected especially for the Q3 on a site measuring 30,000
square meters (322,917 sq. ft). In use for the first time at the
body shop is the so-called “roof bell,” an innovative
development from the Audi Toolmaking Shop in Ingolstadt. A robot
grabs the roof and aligns it precisely while a second robot has
the roof bell ready for the following roof of the next body.
Thanks to its systematic
lightweight design, the basic version of the Audi Q3 weighs less
than 1,500 kilograms (3,306.93 lb). Its engine hood and the
wrap-around hatchback with integrated tail lights are made of
aluminum. A number of ultra-high-strength steels are employed in
the rigid, safe passenger cell.
“A big thank you to all the
employees who have been involved in the Q3 project over the past
years,” says SEAT Board Member for Production Wolfram Thomas.
“The new model is another example of the trust that the
Volkswagen Group and AUDI AG in particular have placed in SEAT.
The Q3 represents the SEAT employees’ excellent preparation and
premium-carmaking skills,” Thomas stresses.
A small, sporty SUV, the Audi Q3
will join the other members of the Q family, the Audi Q5 and the
Audi Q7. The five-door Q3 with its dynamic, coupe-like styling
offers genuine SUV traits in terms of seating position, wheel
size and ground clearance, and stands out on account of the
extremely sporty driving experience it provides. The Q3 combines
the design and dynamics of a compact car with the roominess and
versatility of an SUV. The range of driver assistance systems
brings a new dimension to the compact SUV category. The Audi Q3
will launch with three four-cylinder powerplants: one TDI unit
and two TFSI engines. Developing between 103 kW (140 hp) and 155
kW (211 hp), they are as powerful as they are efficient.
With the Q3, the brand with the
four rings is entering into a new segment. Advance sales for
Europe will begin in June. Market launch is scheduled to take
place in the fourth quarter of this year. Around 100,000 units
are expected to make their way to customers in the first full
production year, 2012. In Germany, sales of the Q3 will begin at
a base price of €29,900. Plans are in place to build the sporty
compact in China, specifically for the local market, in a second
phase.
The SEAT factory in Martorell was
built in 1993. It employs over 10,000 staff. The Audi Q3 is the
first model built in Martorell by the Ingolstadt-based company.
Photos: Audi
(June, 7, 2011)
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