Manufacturing the new Audi A8

Press Release

Pioneering work in production

• More than EUR 300 million investment in Neckarsulm
• The latest plant and processes for processing aluminium
• Level of automation in the body shop at 80 percent

The Audi A8 which came on to the market in 1994 was the first vehicle with a fully aluminium body. In June 2000 the pioneer in aluminium proved with the Audi A2 that the alloy is also suitable for volume production. Moreover, Audi is again setting standards with the new Audi A8, which will appear on the market later this year. "In the production these are innovative processes for processing aluminium and the latest machinery in body construction and assembly," explains Dr. Jochem Heizmann, Board member for Production at AUDI AG. More than EUR 300 million has been invested at the production site and in the Aluminum Competence Centre in Neckarsulm. Around 1,300 employees will be engaged in the production of the new Audi flagship in the body shop, in the paint shop and in assembly. The investment sum includes the completely new body shop (EUR 180 million). Building work began on this in January 2000. In the meantime the 175-metre long, 60-metre wide and 35-metre high building complex has been completed in which the aluminium body with the Audi Space Frame (ASF) will be manufactured for what is the third generation of the A8. A floor space of 24,000 square meters is available on two storeys. In addition, a logistics annex has been built covering 3,900 square metres. Around 350 people are employed in the new A8 body construction plant. 156 robots ensure an automation level of 80 percent. Klaus-Dieter Zachow, Head of the A8 Parts Production, explains: "That's a level we also achieve in volume production on the A2 or the A6 in Neckarsulm." As a comparison: in the body shop of the previous A8 there were 25 robots in operation which was an automation level of 20 percent. "The higher level of automation on the new A8 means a shorter cycle time. Compared with the predecessor, we save over 50 percent in production time in body construction alone. We also improve process reliability and thus raise the reproducible quality considerably," explains Roland Schad, Project Leader for Production on the A8. above photo caption:
Body construction for the new Audi A8: around EUR 180 million has been invested in the completely new body shop at Neckarsulm