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it home reported on september 19 that according to a report by belgian local media de tijd on the 18th local time, audi is actively looking for a buyer for its factory in vorst, brussels, belgium. since volkswagen has decided not to produce cars in vorst after the last batch of electric suv q8 e-tron is produced next year, the possibility of the factory closing is increasing day by day. if the factory is closed, 2,910 employees will face unemployment.

a delegation from nio has visited the plant in the past few weeks, the report said. nio is currently preparing a bid that must be submitted to volkswagen by next monday.

nio has pledged to build an extensive battery-swapping network where users can swap a depleted battery for a fully charged one in minutes, and it hopes to lower the purchase price of its electric vehicles by bundling them with a battery subscription service.

nio's interest in audi's plant is "particularly noteworthy" because the two brands were in court in germany earlier this year. audi sued nio, saying that its model names es6 and es7 were too similar to the sports versions of audi a6 and a7 s6 and s7. audi eventually won the case, and nio had to find a new way to name its models in europe. since then, the names of nio's local models have started with "el" and "et" (it home note: corresponding to suv and sedan respectively).

meanwhile, the potential closure of audi's brussels plant has attracted attention from politicians. during a visit to the plant by the belgian parliament's social affairs committee, mp vincent van quickenborne and other members called for a hearing by the plant's management in parliament.

the union is cautiously optimistic about nio's interest. ronny liedts, chief representative of the acv-metea union, said: "it's not a problem that nio is a chinese automaker. the key is to maximize the preservation of as many jobs as possible."

audi's brussels plant resumed two shifts of production last tuesday after a two-month shutdown, despite continued uncertainty among workers about the plant's future. in early july, audi announced a major restructuring of its brussels plant, a move that risked closure. since then, employees have almost considered the closure of the plant a foregone conclusion.