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Audi, which made a higher operating profit than the VW group in
the first nine months of 2015, said it would invest more than 3
billion euros ($3.3 billion) on plants and equipment in 2016.
A company source said the plan foresaw spending of 3.3 billion
euros for next year. Under its previous budget drawn up a year
ago, Audi announced investments of 17 billion euros over
2015-19, or an annual average of 3.4 billion euros.
"With the current investment program, we obviously want to
enhance the brand’s strong position, but at the same time, we
aim to achieve additional financial scope by means of further
process and cost optimization," Audi finance chief Axel Strotbek
said in a statement.
The move comes after VW, Europe's biggest automotive group, cut
1 billion euros from its 2016 investment plan in November, as
its emissions cheating scandal expanded to include tens of
thousands more U.S. vehicles.
Audi vowed not to save at the expense of future growth but
rather to examine every investment decision individually.
"The Board of Management has therefore decided to postpone the
construction of a new wind tunnel for one year," it said.
The company did not comment on investment plans beyond 2016.
(Reporting by Maria Sheahan and Joern Poltz; Editing by Kirsti
Knolle and Mark Potter)
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