Audi is to invest €12bn (US$13.3bn) of its five-year €$37bn (US$41bn) R&D budget on electric mobility. By reassigning funds from the Audi Transformation Plan (ATP), another €6bn (US$6.6bn) will be invested by 2029.
In the first phase of investment, Audi aims to apportion funds to the 30 electrified models in its range, of which 20 will be fully electric by the middle of the next decade. In the same five-year timeframe, Audi believes 40% of its sales will be electric or hybrid vehicles, but this can only be achieved by working with Porsche to develop architectures for premium electric cars. Audi will then team up with Volkswagen to develop a modular e-drive system.
The company’s management and employees have also agreed to contribute toward Audi’s competitiveness by optimizing market-oriented production at its plants, promoting apprenticeships, and extending their employment guarantee until 2029. It’s these measures that are expected to free up the second phase of investment capital.
“With this new strategy, we are accelerating our roadmap towards electrification. Our investment planning takes this into account. At around €12bn, we will spend more than ever before on electric mobility by 2024. With the ATP, we have significantly improved our spending discipline and our focus on investment. The course has been set for Audi to deliver an operating return on sales within a target corridor of 9-11% in the medium term,” said Alexander Seitz, Audi’s management board member for finance, China and legal affairs.
