With the parent company Volkswagen facing troubles due to emission scandal, Audi has decided to increase its focus on electric vehicles. Speaking to a German newspaper, Audi AG CEO Rupert Stadler revealed that the company plans to have three electric Audi cars by 2020 and wishes to achieve 25 to 30 percent of its sales from electric models by 2025. Talking to Audi mangers last week, Stadler said that the group will now invest more resources in developing electric cars, autonomous driving and digital services.
In an earlier interview, Stadler had revealed that the company will launch an electric car every year starting from 2018. The first model will be its electric SUV, production of which will begin at the company’s Belgium based facility in 2018. This upcoming Audi electric SUV will be based on the e-tron quattro concept that was put on display at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show. Rumoured to be called Audi Q6 e-tron, Audi’s first all-electric SUV will take on the Tesla Model X.
Besides market niches, Audi will also target mass-segments including an entry-level A-segment electric car. We might also see electric models of Audi’s high volume car ranges such as Q line of crossovers, wagons, etc.
The German luxury carmaker has plans to setup a subsidiary – SDS company – that will focus on developing an autonomous car. This new subsidiary will work on a small electric car that will be ideal for urban traffic.
For people not in the know, Audi has plans to work on fuel cell cars as well but that might not happen before 2020. The reason the company is delaying it is not because of technology, but due to lack of infrastructure.
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