German automaker Audi has announced plans to develop a new compact SUV adding that it will roll off the assembly lines in Ingolstadt in 2016.

“The Audi Q1 is part of our broad-based SUV strategy. It is designed on the basis of the modular transverse engine concept and will round off our Q series at the bottom end,” stated Rupert Stadler, chairman of Audi AG.

Audi is continuing its model offensive with the Q1; by 2020, the automaker will expand its product range from the current 49 to more than 60 models. By then, Audi will reach total unit sales of more than two million automobiles each year, Stadler said.

The decision to produce the new model will help to secure utilization of capacity at the main plant in Ingolstadt over the long term. At this site, Audi produces models in the A and B segments, namely the A3 and A3 Sportback and the A4/A5 family.

Peter Mosch, chairman of the General Works Council, said: “This is a clear commitment to Ingolstadt as a production site. We will continue to make all efforts to develop the plant even further as the leading technological site of the Audi Group.”

The Q family currently comprises the Audi Q3, RS Q3, Q5, SQ5 and Q7. The Q5 is the global market leader in its direct competitive environment. This year, Audi had already delivered 194,430 units of the Q5 to customers by the end of October, which is 17 percent more than in the prior-year period. – TradeArabia News Service