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Audi to chop A3

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German car manufacturer Audi will manufacture its new A3 Cabriolet at its plant in Gyor, western Hungary, the company's Chairman Rupert Stadler said recently.

Stadler said that it was an easy decision to manufacturer the car in the Hungarian plant because of its previous good record. While he refused to give exact details on the planned production figures, he said that the vehicle would hit the markets in the second quarter of 2008.

Audi last autumn threatened to pull all further investment from Hungary after the government hit the company with a new 4% tax as part of its efforts to cut its huge budget deficit.

The government was then forced to placate Audi by allowing it to write off the tax on research and development costs.

Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany, speaking alongside Stadler, said that the government was still in talks over the exact investment support it would provide to Audi.

"As soon as we sign the investment support contract, we will reveal the details, since this is about taxpayers' money," he said.

Audi first began manufacturing vehicles in Hungary in 1988 with the TT sports car. This year it foresees manufacturing 50 000 TT units, more than double the previous year.

The Hungarian plant also manufactured almost 2 million engines in 2006.

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