Audi — the German luxury vehicle company that is part of the Volkswagen Group — is making a major investment in electric vehicles. Specifically, Aud is investing €14 billion (about $16 billion) in electric mobility, digitalization, and autonomous driving by the end of 2023. And Audi’s board already approved of the new investment plan. This plan includes investments in property, plants, equipment, and research and development.
“This planning round bears a clear signature: We are taking a very systematic approach to electric mobility and will be much more focused in future. We are consistently prioritizing our resources for future-oriented products and services that are highly attractive and relevant to the market,” said Audi’s temporary Chairman of the Board of Management Bram Schot in a statement. “With models such as the recently presented Audi e-tron GT concept, we want to electrify people again for Audi and at the same time be an agile and very efficient company.”
In the coming years, Audi is going to launch numerous electric cars started with the Audi e-tron. This is the company’s first all-electric SUV. And by 2025, Audi will offer 20 electrified models, around half of which will have all-electric drive systems. Plus Audi is pushing forward with the digitalization of its vehicles and plants.
As a result, the share of total expenditure for future topics is going to increase significantly over the planning period especially in the second half of the planning horizon. The total project expenditure over the five-year planning period is expected to hit about €40 billion (between $45 billion-$46 billion).
Audi is also working with Porsche to develop the “premium architecture electrification (PPE)” for large electric vehicles and the “modular electric drive kit (MEB)” is being realized with Volkswagen.
To finance this program, Audi is systematically rolling out the Audi Transformation Plan. Through this program, Audi will generate positive earnings effects of more than €1 billion in 2018. The Audi Transformation Plan is aimed at reducing complexity and discontinuing activities that are no longer relevant for customers.
