Audi Mexico will source over 65 percent of all sourced parts for the Audi Q5 being built in at its San Jose Chiapa, Mexico, plant from North America, with this to increase to 90 percent in the long term.

It's expected that more than 20,000 jobs could be created over the next 10 years following this strategy, roughly 1,000 of these at a supplier park south of the Audi plant in San José Chiapa. Audi Board Member for Procurement Bernd Martens and Puebla Governor Rafael Morena Valle Rosas were on site for the recent groundbreaking ceremony. The first phase of the JIS (just-in-sequence) Supplier Park is scheduled to begin operation in late 2014. Series production of the second-generation Audi Q5 for the global market begins in 2016.

Audi said that Supplier selection is currently underway. Two-thirds of the more than 200 requests for tender for parts such as windscreens, tires and cockpit electronics have already been completed. Premium quality and delivery reliability are the primary selection criteria.

Seven of the more than 100 suppliers from the NAFTA region will move into the supplier park, which in the first phase of development will occupy more than 258,000 sq.-ft. Roughly 1,000 people will be employed at the JIS Supplier Park in San José Chiapa, from which they will supply the Audi plant with components just in sequence.