Will Audi Close Its Neckarsulm Plant? Özdemir Says “Nothing Has Been Decided”

Audi’s Neckarsulm plant is not facing a settled closure decision, according to Baden-Württemberg Premier Cem Özdemir, who said he still sees a future for the site.

“It is not yet decided, but the current reporting on the situation at VW fills me with great concern,” Özdemir said in a statement. He pointed to the plant’s proximity to Heilbronn and the region’s work on artificial intelligence as opportunities that could extend beyond conventional automobile production.

Özdemir said he had remained in close contact with Audi and Lower Saxony Premier Olaf Lies since taking office. With Volkswagen’s management and labor representatives engaged in difficult negotiations, he said securing the site and showing a willingness to compromise were inseparable.

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It is not yet decided, but the current reporting on the situation at VW fills me with great concern.

He called on company management, the supervisory board and employees to move toward one another and find a joint solution, warning that escalation would help no one. The Baden-Württemberg government, he said, would do everything within its power to strengthen the plant.

State Economy Minister Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut also demanded a clear commitment to Neckarsulm. She said the workforce had already demonstrated its ability to manage industrial change and argued that saving money alone could not provide a future strategy. In a letter to Volkswagen Chief Executive Oliver Blume in early July, Özdemir had warned: “Audi’s withdrawal from Neckarsulm would be a disastrous political signal. It would intensify the debate about Germany’s deindustrialization.”

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Audi’s withdrawal from Neckarsulm would be a disastrous political signal. It would intensify the debate about Germany’s deindustrialization.