Audi has announced that they are pausing the production of A4 and A5 models at their main factory in Ingolstadt, Germany, due to a lack of parts after a fire broke out at one of its suppliers, reports Reuters.
According to the automaker, the supplier is in charge of making front wall cladding and had to halt production on Monday in the aftermath of the fire. Audi produces 1,400 A4 and A5 models per day at the plant, its largest, so it will lose 5,600 vehicles until production resumes on Thursday. Approximately 8,500 workers have been asked to stay home during this production hiatus.
The A4 and A5 are also being built at the company’s plant in Neckarsulm, but the parts shortage has not hampered production at this site.
Besides the A4 and A5 models and their derivatives, the Ingolstadt facility also assembles the compact Q2 crossover and the A3 range (including S3 and RS3 models). All of these models are being produced by 44,000 Audi employees at a massive factory that has a site area of 29.5 million sq. ft.
Audi’s Ingolstadt manufacturing facility produced a total of 592,337 vehicles in 2016. That means, a car rolls off the assembly line once every 30 seconds, or more than 2,500 units each day. The previous generation Q5 midsize crossover was among the models produced at the plant, but assembly of its successor has been relocated to the company’s new factory in San José Chiapa, Mexico.
