MbS made the remarks at an annual speech to the advisory Shura Council, which he gave on behalf of his father, King Salman
Audi is planning a massive foriegn expansion and will invest in22 billion euros in the next five years. -AP
Germany’s Audi said it would invest about 22 billion euros ($30.1 billion) in new models, plants and technology in the five years through 2018.
That equates to 4.4 billion euros a year, compared with 2.6 billion in the carmaker’s budget of December 2011.
People familiar with the matter told Reuters earlier this month that Audi planned to increase spending as the luxury carmaker steps up efforts to catch up with larger competitor BMW .
Audi, a division of Volkswagen, said in a statement on Friday that 70 percent of its planned investment was earmarked for new models and technology, and more than half of the sum would go to its German sites in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm.
Planned investments will sustain Audi’s foreign expansion as the carmaker sets up factories in Mexico and China and eyes production in Brazil. Audi, for the first time, next year plans to build more cars outside Germany than at home.
It also aims to boost vehicle sales to at least 2 million cars per year and overtake luxury-sales champion BMW by the end of the decade by expanding to 60 models from its current 49.
“We had set a target of 1.5 million deliveries a year by 2015, but we already comfortably reached that target in 2013. Now we are heading for the next milestone of 2 million,” Audi Chief Executive Rupert Stadler said in the statement.
Higher spending at Audi follows an announcement by VW last month it will shield vehicle-based investment from cuts in other areas, responding to sluggishautodemand. The expansion is part of VW’s goal to overtake Toyota and General Motors as the world’s No. 1 automaker no later than 2018.
MbS made the remarks at an annual speech to the advisory Shura Council, which he gave on behalf of his father, King Salman
His visit to Cairo aimed to salvage stalled negotiations mediated by Egypt, Qatar and the United States to end the conflict
The group accused Israel, which has so far refused to comment, as US denies involvement
Hundreds of pagers belonging to the armed group exploded in Lebanon on Tuesday, killed 12 people, including two children, and wounded up to 2,800 others
They view it as a pivotal move toward fostering inclusivity and diversity in corporate structures
Israel has not yet commented on the explosions
The meeting saw engaging discussions on Sinomach’s strategic initiatives and ongoing projects in the region