Audi Car Factory Visit

Overview

Pictures

The Audi e-tron certainly is a great example of the “Vorsprung durch Technik” motto of the Audi car company. Just look at the below pictures and videos to get a better idea of the amazing car we will learn about. Pictures of the production process are scarce due to the restriction to take cameras inside, so we’ll leave that for this special evening itself.

Audi Brussels

The Audi Brussels factory was founded in 1949 and was previously known as Volkswagen Vorst. The year before, Pierre D’Ieteren entered into an agreement with Volkswagen to import cars into Belgium and the company has done so ever since. It also imported several American car brands, including Studebaker, which became the first local produced US car and quickly became a competitor for Ford and Chevrolet. In 1960 Studebaker pulled out, which allowed to focus the full production capacity to Volkswagen. Up until that moment already 100.000 Beetles were produced in Brussels. The following decades the German car company also produced thousands of Polos, Golfs, Pasats, Lupos, VW vans and Porsches here. And for a short while also the Audi A3 rolled off the conveyor belts.

Since 2010, and after an investment of 300 million euro, the Vorst factory become the birthplace for tens of thousands of the smallest member of the Audi family: the elegant Audi A1. And for a short while also the remodeled Audi A3 was back into production.

In 2016 Audi announced that an exciting new model would be produced here just a few years later, the Audi e-tron and the Audi e-tron Sportsback. The factory stopped producing cars for a few years, but since 2019 this amazing car rolls out.

Audi e-tron

The Audi e-tron is a fully-electric mid-size luxury crossover SUV produced by Audi, which was unveiled as a concept car at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show. It is the company’s first electric mass production car, and was first delivered in May 2019. It has an EPA range of 204 miles (328 km).

The Audi e-tron is powered by a 95 kWh battery pack of which 83.6 kWh is usable. It is able to get an 80% charge in around 30 minutes when using 150 kW DC fast-chargers. For at-home charging, there is a standard 11 kW charger which charges it in 8.5 hours, while an optional 22 kW charger halves this time. A liquid cooling system (also serving the motors and power electronics) keeps the battery between 23-35 degrees Celsius, and battery modules (twelve 60 Ah cells each) can be replaced.

The quattro electric all-wheel drive uses two electric motors, one mounted to the front and one at the rear. An early specification rated these two motors at a total system output of 300 kW (408 PS; 402 hp) and 664 Nm of torque enabling the car to accelerate from 0–100 km/h in 5.7 seconds and on to a top speed of 200 km/h.

The car uses an energy recuperation system which, on average, contributes 30% to the range. Recuperation can be achieved both when the driver releases the accelerator and when applying pressure to the brake.

When the car is equipped with the virtual side mirrors the car has a drag coefficient of 0.27. The e-tron also sits slightly lower than a traditional SUV; at 1,616 mm (63.6 in) high, it is 43 mm (1.7 in) lower than the Audi Q5. It has 660 litres (23 cu ft) of boot space, 160 l (5.7 cu ft) more than the Mercedes-Benz EQC, along with 60 litres (2.1 cu ft) of storage space in the front. (source: Wikipedia)

Tour

During our visit two English-speaking guides will take us on a private tour through the main parts of the production facilities and explains exactly how a car is made, from A to Q. That’s a little Audi joke 😉 We will walk through the various stages / areas in the factory, including the bodywork, assembly and logistics (t.b.c. during day by Audi). We can’t visit the painting section, but you will learn during the tour why that is. You’ll be amazed with the efficiency of this factory and how all parts come together at the exact right moments to create a brand new Audi.

This exclusive factory tour is not only for car lovers, but also for those who have an interest in technology, business, sustainable transportation and design. In fact, it’s pretty sure everyone will enjoy this memorable tour.

Directions

The Audi factory is located in the Southwest region of Brussels, in the commune of Forest / Vorst. By car is certainly the easiest, although with public transportation you can also get there quickly. For instance, bus line #50 takes only 16 minutes from Midi Station, including a 5 minute walk, so from Schuman it would take maybe 35-45 minutes max. Trams 32, 82, and 97 take you to there with a 8 minute walk. You can check the best travel directions by clicking here. The address is Boulevard de la 2ème Armée Britannique 201, Forest.

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Comments

This tour is for young and old, although we advice a minimum age of 12 years (discounted child tickets available).

• This tour involves a minimum 2km of walking, including some stairs. It is therefore advisable to wear comfortable shoes. Open shoes, such as sandals, as well as high heels, are strictly prohibited! You will be denied access to the tour.
• It is strictly forbidden to take your camera, phone or other registration device with you on the tour. Special lockers are available.
• Travel directions and meeting information will be provided a few days before the event to those that register, although you should be able to find everything on this page as well.
• The copyrights of all pictures are with © Audi Brussels.