Audi plots road map for the era of electric mobility

Audi is transforming into a provider of electric mobility - a process that involves all areas of the company.

Modern premium customers are increasingly placing their focus on sustainable mobility and Audi is making changes to embrace this change.

The firm is reserving up to 50% of its marketing budget for topics relating to electric mobility, providing its customers with a stronger emotional experience with the new drive type, as well as to spark enthusiasm and dispel any reservations regarding electric drive.

The company podcast 'The Future Is Electric' is now already on its second season, and has recently won the 'World Media Award' in the 'Automotive' category. This is an indicator of the success of Audi's approach.

In matters of procurement, the company is also intensifying its efforts to reduce its CO₂ emissions along the entire value chain. For example, the premium carmaker is a campaigner for the sustainable treatment of aluminium.

Audi was the first automotive manufacturer to be awarded the 'Performance Standard' certificate by the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative, and has also been active in recycling aluminium, saving around 90,000 metric tons of CO₂ from aluminium production in 2018 alone.

Audi has also introduced a sustainability rating in 2017 to assess whether its suppliers adhere to social and environmental standards.

The new rating system ensures that suppliers to the firm will receive an order only if they verifiably meet specific social, environmental and compliance standards.

Of course, Audi's main thrust towards carbon neutrality will come through its products. Audi has entered the electric era with the start of production of the Audi e-tron in the Brussels plant. The production site was first extensively modernised and is now one of the most modern production sites for electric models in Europe.

Many experiences from the production of the e-tron in Brussels are also now being incorporated in the new electric vehicle projects, and the establishment of further production sites for electric vehicles.

Finally, the disposal of electric vehicles has also received consideration, with Audi currently testing two pilot projects for the recycling of batteries. The first involves their use in forklift trucks and tractor units at the main plant in Ingolstadt, and the second involves the use of the recycled batteries as stationary energy storage on a campus in Berlin.

Audi has also been working with Belgian recycling and materials technology specialist Umicore, and have developed a closed circuit for the elements of high voltage batteries, allowing for the salvage of valuable materials such as cobalt and nickel in order to use them in new high voltage batteries.