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Audi Electric Vehicles

Audi announced it’s updated electrification plans at the start of 2020. The agresive AUDI EV strategy follows that of its parent company, Volkswagen. The plan, which is funded through a €12 billion investment, targets a penetration of 40% of the comapny’s total vehicle sales by 2025. AUDI plans to have 30 plug-in electric models by 2025, of which 20 models will be pure electric. By the end of 2020 AUDI will already have 5 pure elctric models and 17 plug-in hybrid EVs in it’s portfolio. In the plan Plug-in Hybrid EVs is toi be expanded to all market segments.


AUDI set out the following three point plan to make it’s EV strategy profitable:


  • First: We will strengthen the revenue side. With an attractive electric portfolio we will convince customers and enhance the prestige of our "Vorsprung durch Technik" motto. This will also strengthen our future pricing position.
  • Second: We will reduce complexity wherever we can. I am firmly convinced that the unique characteristics of electric vehicles will enable us to meet customer expectations with fewer models. We will also reduce complexity with regard to the individual options in our product range. Moreover: in the future, many customer functions will be implemented digitally.
  • Third: We will make the greatest possible use of synergy effects. We are the only premium manufacturer competing in the premium segment capable of capturing synergies on this scale through group-level cooperation in the interests of customers. We are teaming up with Porsche to cover the extensive development costs and investments for the Premium Platform Electric (PPE). For compact and mid-class models, we will use the modular electrification platform (MEB). Approximately 20 million vehicles will be based on MEB. The resulting economies of scale will enable us to offer our customers a superior product, traditionally identified with the Audi name, at an attractive price point.


Audi Fuel Cell Electric Models

Audi Electric Car Strategy in the news

2018 Week 31 Audi teases the PB18 e-tron

Audi teased its supercar concept, the Audi PB18 e-tron, named after the event where it will be revealed on the 23rd of August 2018. This years Pebble Beach Car Week in Monterey, California will be the host of the PB18 which follows on the technology of the Audi R18 e-tron the LeMans-series winner.

2018 Week 30 Launch date of e-tron set

AUDI announced the new launch date of the long expected AUDI e-tron pure electric SUV. The official launch will now take place on the 17th of September in San Francisco, USA after the company had to cancel the 30 August launch in Brussels due to the arrest of its CEO. Buyers in the USA will also be able to order the E-Tron online by paying a $1,000 refundable deposit. The AUDI e-tron is available from the company’s 303 dealers in the USA in Q1 2019. AUDI will also elaborate on its future during the launch.

The e-tron will be the first of three battery-electric vehicles that Audi plans to debut by 2020, with nearly 30 percent of its customers in the U.S. anticipated to go electric by 2025.

2018 Week 24 Audi continues investment in Fuel Cells

In related news, VW/Audi and Canadian company Ballard Power this week extended their long-term HyMotion contract to develop a small series fuel cell Audi by 2022. The value of the contract for the NASDAQ and Toronto SE listed Ballard is estimated to be up to $100 million. The initial relationship commenced with the signing of a four-year contract in March 2013 which was extended for another two years to March 2019. Audi took over control of the program in 2016. Fruits of the program in the form of a Golf SportWagen HyMotion, Passat HyMotion, and Audi A7 Sportback h-tron Quattro was presented at the LA and Detroit Auto Shows during the run of the program.

2018 Week 19 Audi EV release dates set

AUDI announced that it would host the world premiere of the much anticipated Audi e-tron SUV on the 30th of August this year at the Audi Summit in Brussels. The VW company made the announcement to shareholders at its 129th Annual General Meeting in Ingolstadt while explaining the company’s transformation after the diesel gate fiasco. Audi’s Board of Management informed shareholders that one of the objectives of its Action and Transformation Plan is to sell 800,000 electrified vehicles per annum by 2025 from 20 electrified models. The company will expand its current portfolio to include plug-in hybrid and all-electric vehicles in each model range by 2025. Audi also aims to generate €1 billion through providing digital services via the myAudi customer portal by the year 2025. The E-tron Quattro EV SUV will be the first to provide the service whereby customers can book various functions online via the service. The Audi Quattro will be equipped with a 150kW fast charge system and have a range of 400km (250mi) in WLTP driving cycle. Not only will the Quatro E-tron be a zero-emission vehicle, but it will also be the first premium car to be produced in a certified CO2-neutral high-volume production facility. AUDI plans to transform all its production sites worldwide CO2 neutral by 2030.

The Management Board plans to invest €40 billion to support the company’s shift to e-mobility, self-driving, and digitization to develop products such as the AUDI Aicon presented the Frankfurt Auto Show in 2017. AUDI this week announced that the pilot program for the AUDI AICON A-EV would commence in 2021. The second EV following on the Quattro e-tron will be the Audi e-tron Sportback in 2019, followed by the Audi e-tron GT from Audi Sport and an electric model in the premium compact segment in 2020. The premium VW brands, Audi and Porsche, are working together to implement the premium-architecture electrification for mid-range, full-size and luxury-class electric cars.

2018 Week 10 Q6 E-tron prototype unveiled.

Audi unveiled the prototype for its first all-electric model at the Geneva Motor Show, the Audi E-Tron Q6 SUV. Audi Chairman of the Board, Rupert Stadler, said, “Audi sets an important milestone for the company’s future with its first purely electrically powered model, in 2020 we will have three all-electric vehicles in our product range, with a four-door Gran Turismo – the production version of the Audi e-tron Sportback concept – and a model in the compact segment joining the sporty SUV. We will be launching more than 20 electric cars and plug-in hybrids by 2025 – spread across all segments and concepts.” 

2018 Week 10 Audi and FAW EV strategy

During the launch of a jointly owned distribution company in China Audi and FAW announced that it intends to develop four EVs over the next five years.

Also, Audi and FAW will set up a company for new mobility and digital services. “China is taking a pioneer role in terms of digitization. In the future, we can respond to customer requests with even more agility in this area and offer new digitization concepts”, adds Wedler. Among other projects, the new mobility company will take over the premium mobility service Audi on demand+ which was launched in Beijing in September 2017.

2017 Week 50 Audi Sport to bring pure EV by 2020

Audi Sport, the performance division of the German automaker, announced that it will offer all-electric models from the end of 2020 in a bid to compete with Volvo‘s Polestar and Tesla.

2017 Week 48 Audi to develop 2 electric SUVs

Audi announced that it will two new all-electric SUVs by 2021 at its Ingolstadt plant. The news was announced after a meeting between labor and management where job security concerns were discussed.

2017 Week 39 AUDI will produce EVs at all its plants

Earlier the year we reported that unions at Audi approaching management asking to assemble electric vehicles at more of its plants. The unions feared job losses for those being left out of opportunities to gain skills should the technology overtake combustion vehicles. 


This week Reuters reported that the German automakers CEO, Rupert Stadler, responded to the request by employees by committing that EVs would be manufactured at all its plants across the globe, including Hungary and Mexico. The commitment is made as the company gears up to roll-out 20 EVs by 2025.


2017 Week 37 AUDI showcases self-driving progress at FAS

Audi showcased the progress it made thus far on autonomous technology from SAE Levels 3 to 5 at the Frankfurt Auto Show this week, through three vehicles with autonomous capability. The Audi A8 with Traffic Jam Pilot, allowing full autonomy on highways up to speeds of 60kmh (37.3mph). The Audi Aicon, the German automaker’s Vision vehicle for self-driving. The Aicon, pictured below, has no pedals or steering wheel and is designed for purely electric operation and should be able to cover distances between 700 and 800 kilometers (435.0 – 497.1 mi) on a single charge. The company also introduced the Audi Elaine, an electric-powered SUV coupe that in a few short years will make highly automated driving possible – at times even without a driver on board.

2017 Week 26 AUDI and Schaeffler partner on Formula E powertrain

Audi and German auto parts company, Schaeffler, partnered to develop a new powertrain for the ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport Formula E Race Team. The partnership will be around the development for the next three generations of the race car’s powertrain. The team has finished on the podium for the past two seasons and is again lying second in the third iteration of the ever-popular event.

2017 Week 25 Audi start testing self-driving in New York

Audi started testing Level 3 autonomous vehicles in New York. Audi calls the technology ‘Audi Highway Pilot’.

2017 Week 25 Audi e-tron Sportback production date unveilled

Two VW Group companies this week confirmed the production of exciting concept vehicles introduced recently.

Audi announced that it will start producing the Audi e-tron Sportback EV at its Brussels plant from 2019 while VW’s Chairman, Dr. Herbert Diess confirmed that it will produce a version of the of the I.D. Buzz unveiled last year. The I.D. Buzz will join the I.D. Crozz in production and compete with Tesla‘s expected Type II people carrier.

2017 Week 24 New EVs announced

This week saw the announcement of four new EV models by AudiDS Auto, Tata Motors and Hyundai. The four brands will release electrified versions of existing model ranges as they rush to enter the market.

Audi announced its intentions to launch an electrified version of the Q2 SUV for the Chinese market. The Q2 will compete with the BMW Brilliance X1 which is also specifically produced for the Chinese EV market.

2017 Week 14 Audi and Porsche to Accelerate EV's through partnership

VW sister companies, Audi and Porsche, to accelerate their respective electric vehicle strategies, this week announced that they would jointly develop a shared electric vehicle platform allowing the automakers a faster route to electric, connected and autonomous technology. The partnership will last til 2025. The German based VW Group‘s electric vehicle strategy is built on its MEB electric platform architecture, while Porsche targets the delivery of its first electric vehicle, the Mission E by 2020 and Audi, an electric SUV based on the e-Tron Quattro by 2018. Both vehicles will have various degrees of autonomy as part of its offering.

2017 Week 13 Audi staff pushing for more EVs

News from the past week shows the that the pendulum is swinger quicker than expected for electric vehicles. The results of two surveys in the UK this week was a clear indication that demand for electric vehicles is much more than most automakers anticipated. Google searches for the electric vehicles has also surged by 127%.

A survey by Venson Automotive Solutions shows that 85% of respondents from a survey in the UK are now seriously considering buying an EV. Reading between the lines, wattEV2Buy finds it significant that range is no longer the deterring factor when prospective buyers are considering buying an EV. For long, most respondents to such surveys cited range as overarching reason for not buying an EV. In the Venson Survey, a lack of charging stations was the biggest reason for prospective buyers to put off the buying decision. In a separate survey by Carbuyer, 61% of respondents said they would not buy diesel vehicles again because of “diesel gate,” the spectacular “own goal” by big auto. Diesel sales were down 9% in the UK for the month of February while plug-in vehicles rose by 49%.

Most automakers have caught on to the shift, but not aggressive enough, while others are being forced to produce plug-in electric vehicles. Labor organizations within Audi have asked management to build more electric vehicles, as some of the factory units fear missing out on the technology will lead to job losses. Hyundai was forced by shareholders to shift focus on Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicles to plug-in electric vehicles, while Daimler has accelerated its massive $10 billion planned investment in EV’s. All these turnarounds in strategy pale in comparison to that of Sergio Marchionne, FIAT Chrysler‘s CEO, but more Hyundai, FIAT, and Daimler later in the post.

2017 Week 7 Audi comfortably retains its second position in the Formula E team standings

The 3rd event in the current series of the Formula-E electric vehicle street racing calendar held Buenos Aires Argentina ended yet again with a victorious Renault.eDams team. The e.Dams driver, Swiss-born Sebastian Buemi clinched his 3rd win of the series. The Brasilian Lucas Di Grassi’s 2nd position kept Audi’s ABT Schaeffler standings in the overall second position. The Chinese teams of Next EV and Techeeta were the only teams climbing the rankings, now lying 4th and 5th respectively. Newcomer Panasonic Jaguar has yet to score a single point in the 3rd season, with its drivers Evans and Carrol ending 18th and 19th. 

2017 Week 4 Audi calls on auto dealers to get their EV act together

A barrier to the electric vehicle sector has long been auto dealers and one reason why Tesla chose a direct selling model. Now Audi, a Volkswagen company, and automaker who is also betting its future on electric vehicles told dealers to get behind the technology. Auto dealers are blocking the technology because less moving parts will lead to fewer service calls, taking away annuity income. The President of Audi America, in his keynote address to the National Automobile Dealers Association, told the audience that the industry would be entirely electric in 10 years and they have to change their business models to remain relevant.

2016 Week 51 Audi 3rd in Customer Survey

Tesla voted the consumers darling in the Consumer Reports Annual Owner Satisfaction Survey with 91% Tesla owners responded with a “Definitely yes” when asked if they will buy the brand again. Second with only 84% was Porsche. The bottom quartile included brands such as Jeep, Nissan, Fiat, and Volkswagen, which dropped eight places. The survey included over 300,000 vehicles. Can the States who is refusing Tesla’s direct selling model, naysayers, and auto dealers refusing to get behind electric vehicles please respond to this? For the complete list follow the link.

2016 Week 37 Connected vehicles

Audi China and FAWVolkswagen this week announced that it entered into agreements with three Chinese internet technology companies, Alibaba, Baidu, and Tencent respectively. The partners will deepen their cooperation in the areas of data analysis, internet-vehicle platform building, and intelligent urban transport. Audi aims to deepen its digital footprint in China which has become the lead market for digital technologies.

2016 Week 29 Strategy

Another automaker, Audi, this week outlined its plans to bed down on an electric vehicle strategy by introducing targets to produce at least 450,000 plug-in units per year by 2025. The company will increase R&D to around a third of its budget, at the expense of combustion technology programs.

2016 Week 25 Strategy

AUDI to challenge Tesla in the race to be the lead in the electric vehicle sector. The company hopes to leverage it’s mass production expertise to trump Tesla. Mass production has been Elon Musk’s Achille’s heel up to now.

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