MEXICO CITY -- Audi plans to make an electric version of its Q5 midsize SUV at its new plant in Mexico, two sources with knowledge of the project said.
Audi is set to open a $1.3 billion factory in Mexico on Sept. 30, its first in the country that is slated eventually to be Audi's only source globally for the Q5 models.
The plant in San Jose Chiapa in central Mexico will produce Q5s with combustion engines at first, but plans to introduce the electric version in the near term, said the sources, who requested anonymity.
"They are training personnel," one of the sources said, adding that the project does not yet have a launch date.
Currently, the conventional Q5 is built in Ingolstadt, Germany, for global export. It is also produced in China and India, for local sales only.
The Q5 is one of Audi's best-selling models worldwide. The plant in Mexico should begin by producing 150,000 cars a year, the sources said.
Audi's first electric SUV, based on the e-tron quattro concept unveiled at the Frankfurt auto show last year, will go into production in 2018 at the automaker's plant in Brussels, Belgium.
The model, likely to be called the Q6, will fit between the Q5 and the Q7 large SUV. The SUV will have a range of 500km (310 miles).
Automotive News Europe contributed to this report
