Anniversary magazine History

The Brussels plant is over 70 years old. On April 7, 1949, the first vehicle rolled off the production line. From 1970 until the plant was taken over by AUDI AG in 2007, the site belonged to Volkswagen AG and manufactured various Volkswagen Group models. After the takeover, the Brussels location assumed an important role in the Audi Group. The start of production of the Audi A1 in 2010 marked a new era. In the history of the plant, the Audi A1 was the first model to be manufactured exclusively in the European capital. Audi Brussels expanded its production to include the Audi A1 Sportback in 2011, before adding the Audi S1 and Audi S1 Sportback models in 2014. In 2012, Audi Brussels manufactured the Audi A1 quattro as a special limited-edition model. On August 1, 2018, the last first-generation Audi A1 came off the production line in Brussels. In total, almost 910,000 Audi A1 cars had been manufactured in Brussels since May 2010. The successor to the Audi A1 will be built at the Spanish plant in Martorell.

1949

Construction of first production facilities and foundation of plant as “Anciens Etablissements D’Ieteren Frères”

1970

Foundation of Volkswagen Bruxelles S.A. – Brussel N.V.

2005

Foundation of company AutoVision S.A. – N.V. as operator of the Automotive Park

2006

Decision of Volkswagen AG to concentrate VW Golf production at its Wolfsburg and Mosel sites; Restructuring agreement, 2,200 jobs retained

2007–2009

Period of transition: takeover and restructuring of plant by Audi;
Production of Audi A3, VW Golf (until summer 2007), and VW Polo (until November 2009) by Audi Brussels

2009

Sixty-year anniversary of Brussels location

2010

Start of production of Audi A1;
Production of seven millionth automobile at site

2011

Visit of then Belgian King Albert II;
Opening of visitor pathway;

2012

Audi Brussels celebrates fifth anniversary
Cooperation agreements for “Dual Education” pilot project

2013

Commissioning of 37,000 square meter photovoltaic power plant

2014

Festivities to mark 500,000th Audi A1, with visit of Belgian King Philippe I

2017

With sweeping conversion works, the Brussels plant is made ready for series production of the first all-electric car from the Audi brand. Foundation stone laid for southern extension of body construction facilities

2018

Production of Audi A1 moved from Brussels to Martorell (Spain)
Start of series production of Audi e-tron in Brussels
Audi Brussels is awarded the Diversity Label 2018 of Brussels-Capital region

2019

King Philippe I visits the plant (occasion: manufacturing of Audi e-tron and “Dual Education” at Audi Brussels)
Expansion of Automotive Park with 8,000 square meters of logistics space
Expansion of photovoltaic power plant to total area of 89,000 square meters

2020

Start of production Audi e-tron Sportback (January)
Expansion of photovoltaic power plant to total area of 107,000 square meters
Audi Brussels receives Factory of the Future award

2021

Installation of 34 charging points for electric vehicles in the parking lots around the plant;
Audi Brussels builds the 100,000th Audi e-tron in April;
Development of the BattMAN ReLife analysis software to check the state of health of high-voltage batteries in just a few minutes;
Audi Brussels produces its eight millionth vehicle in November

2022

Audi Brussels wins the "Industrial Excellence Award Belgium 2021";
Audi Brussels awarded the title "Top Employer" - for the seventh time in a row;
AudiStream: online guided tour through the production of Audi Brussels;
From truck to rail: Audi switches the delivery of battery modules for Brussels;
Start of production of the Audi Q8 e-tron and Audi Q8 Sportback e-tron

2024 Audi Brussels awarded the title of "Top Employer" - for the eighth time in a row;
Audi Brussels awarded the title "Factory of the Future";
Audi Brussels builds its 200,000th electric vehicle in June 2023;
First Social Day at Audi Brussels in June;
Environmental Week takes place for the third time in October