SMM: according to reports, on Oct. 10, an official of German automaker Audi revealed that a factory in Mexico was still in operation after Audi denied the dispute over unpaid bills.
The plant, located in the middle of (Puebla), Puebla, was officially put into production in 2016. After hours of negotiations with Audi, local government officials failed to reach an agreement to resolve a debt dispute of 90 million pesos (about $4.3 million), including local property taxes and water taxes, according to media reports. Local officials closed the factory on Oct. 9, the report said. Later, an unidentified Puebla state official later confirmed the report.
"our factory has never been closed and we have been fulfilling our obligations on time," said Christine Kuhlmeyer, a communications officer at Audi Mexico. Asked about the exact amount of outstanding debt reported by local media, Kuhlmeyer said she could not comment on any specific amount, but said factory representatives would talk to state authorities on Oct. 12. "there are some measures mentioned in the news reports, but they did not close the factory," she said. " She also said that work at the factory had not been interrupted in the evening of October 9 and in the morning of October 10.
Audi's sales showed good performance in the last third quarter. Markus Duesmann, head of Audi, was quoted by foreign media as saying that the company's sales were strong in the third quarter of this year, but its total sales in 2020 will still decline compared with the same period last year. "although our dealers have achieved very good results, we will not be able to recover the heavy losses of April and May globally for the whole of this year," Duesmann said.
September has always been the peak season for Audi's global sales. Duesmann said that the performance of the Chinese market is particularly outstanding, so he believes that the full-year sales of the Chinese market in 2020 will improve slightly.
