Multi-billion investment by Audi in future mobility

Audi is entering future mobility with a €40 billion investment to be deployed over the next 5 years.

Audi has unveiled its new future strategy, an action plan that will affect the production of its future cars. In the next 5 years (between 2019 and 2023), the Ingolstadt-based firm plans to invest a total of €40 billion in future mobility, money that will be allocated to electric mobility, digitalisation and autonomous driving. This multi-billion outlay will include the acquisition of property, plants and equipment to drive mass production of future cars, as well as spending on research and development.

“This plan carries a clear theme: we are taking a systematic approach to electric mobility, with an even greater future focus in this area. We consistently prioritise our resources to offer future-oriented products and services that are highly attractive and relevant in the market. With models such as the recently presented Audi e-tron GT concept, we want once again to give customers the experience of electric mobility, while also being an agile and highly efficient company,” says Bram Schot, Interim Chairman of Audi.

20 new electrified models by 2025

Starting with the Audi e-tron, the brand’s first fully electric SUV, the German company’s plans involve launching numerous electric vehicles onto the market in the coming years. By 2025, Audi will offer around 20 electrified models, half of which will be 100% battery-electric.

As we have said, the proportion of investment allocated to future cars will increase substantially over the next five years, especially in the second half of the planned period.

More investment, same synergies with the VAG Group

The increase in electric mobility proposed by Audi will be built on the same architectures (modular platforms) of the VAG Group that have been applied until now, which entails cross-brand synergy with the group’s other brands.

In this regard, it should be noted that Audi is working with Porsche to develop the premium electrification architecture (PPE: “premium architecture electrification”) for large electric vehicles, while the MEB platform (“modular electric drive kit”) is being developed together with Volkswagen.

Short-term return on investment

With this programme, Audi expects to generate profits of more than €1 billion in 2018 itself, offsetting the financial burden of the high upfront investments. The brand’s goal is to simplify processes, leverage synergies, and identify and discontinue activities that are no longer relevant to customers in order to maintain the company’s financial productivity despite the large investment made.