The first series production version of Audi’s new Q3 small SUV rolled off the assembly line today at the SEAT factory in Martorell, located in Spain’s Catalonia region. Built in 1993, the Martorell plant currently employs more than 10,000 workers. This is the first time that the Ingolstadt-based automaker makes use of the SEAT factory. To build the Q3, the VW Group invested around €330 million in infrastructure and upgrades to the production facilities. Audi said around 100,000 Q3s are slated to leave the three-shift assembly line each year.
The smallest member of Audi’s Q series of SUVs and crossovers utilizes the VW Tiguan’s platform architecture. Currently, the Q3 is offered with three four-cylinder powerplants, a 2.0-liter turbo diesel with 177-horses, and a 2.0-liter turbocharged gasoline engine available in two outputs with 170HP and 211HP. A more fuel-efficient 2.0 TDI with 140HP as well as smaller displacement petrol engines are to be added to the range in the near future.
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