Audi has already declared that starting in 2026, it will only offer electric vehicles, and that it will phase out models with internal combustion engines by 2033. The Four Rings are reiterating their commitment to EVs by aiming to produce zero-emission vehicles at all of their factories by 2029. At the sites in Böllinger Höfe, Germany, and Brussels, Belgium, it is already taking place, and Ingolstadt, Germany, will follow next year when the Q6 E-Tron starts to come off the assembly line.
The factories in Neckarsulm (Germany), San José Chiapa (Mexico), and Gyr (Hungary) will start producing electric vehicles within the next six years. According to Audi, new factories will only be built in areas where more production capacity is required. To that end, a new manufacturing facility for electric vehicles based on PPE is being built in Changchun (China) with partner FAW. By the end of 2024, construction will be completed.
Audi will also spend about €500 million by the middle of this decade on employee training for the global production of electric vehicles. The luxury brand that is a part of the Volkswagen Group has a lofty goal: by 2033, cut annual factory costs in half. By using more EVs and fewer ICEs, complexity can be reduced, making it possible to achieve this goal. From the beginning, a streamlined production process will be used. With combustion-engined vehicles gradually being replaced by electric vehicles in the upcoming years, the Q6 E-Tron will be built on the same assembly line as the A4 and A5.
Let’s not forget that by announcing it would not be renewing the A1 supermini and Q2 subcompact crossover after the current generation models run their course, Audi has already hinted at the end of two conventionally powered vehicles. The more affordable TT sports car is also nearing its end, and the V10-powered R8 supercar is also disappearing. (midcitiespsychiatry)
Later this decade, the flagship A8 is likely to become a flagship EV, with subsequent electric vehicles being modelled after Audi’s Sphere concepts. On January 26, the following one, titled Activesphere, will make its debut.