A winning quartet – Audi’s path to the electric age

Key factors that determine the everyday usability of electric cars are range and charging time. Drivers of a fully electric Audi model benefit from high charging speeds because the charging capacity currently of up to 150 kW is achieved across an extensive part of the charging process, depending on model. The Audi e-tron GT3 even manages a charging capacity as high as270 kW. It demonstrates how high performance also extends to the matter of charging at Audi. This performance is made possible by intelligent thermal management of the battery.

All the electric cars currently available from Audi are also embedded in an intelligent ecosystem: The Audi route planner allows routes to be planned in advance on a mobile phone and then sent to the car. The planner computes the fastest route, takes traffic and route data as well as the driver’s style into account, calculates the duration of the charging stops and includes them in the total driving time. In combination with the Audi e-tron Charging Service, Audi customers in Europe have the benefit of over 203,600 charging points in 26 countries that they can use with just one card and one contract.

There should be a further boost to the range in years to come from innovations to the battery and drive. The power density of the cells will increase, boosting the storage capacity that is possible with a unit occupying the same space or paving the way for smaller, lighter batteries. Both measures can extend the range while cutting material costs.

An improved drive is also a factor in increasing the range. For example, Audi aims to reduce the weight of future electric motors by around 20 percent and extend the range by some 10 percent. Whereas some competitors buy in electric drive technology, Audi develops and builds much of it itself. This enables the brand to be sure of its premium quality. In 2020, Audi collected an AutomotiveINNOVATIONS Award sponsored by the renowned Center of Automotive Management (CAM), in the Alternative Drives category.

Zero local emissions coupled with long-distance capability – plug-in hybrids are an important element of Audi’s electric initiative. They are especially important for customers in urban areas and for commuters as the key to driving with zero local emissions. Audi is consistently expanding its part-electric model range all the way from the compact to the luxury segment. The brand already offers plug-in hybrids in nine model series. They are proving a real hit with customers: Last year, the brand with the Four Rings sold roughly eight times more plug-in hybrid models worldwide than in 2019. Despite the constraints of the coronavirus crisis, Audi has increased production capacity for plug-in hybrids more than four-fold since 2019.

The Volkswagen Group is explicitly committed to the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, which aims to cap the global temperature rise to significantly less than two degrees Celsius. As its contribution to this “two-degree goal,” Audi is concentrating, among other things, on reducing the CO₂ emissions of its vehicle fleet. Based on provisional figures, the company surpassed its CO₂ fleet targets for Europe within the Volkswagen emissions pool in 2020.