Audi: Going Electric
Within ten years Audi is looking to offer electric cars with no exhaust emissions. Audi the luxury unit of Volkswagen. In interview with Welt am Sonntag, a German weekly, Audi’s boss Rupert Stadler said that he expects diesel and battery technology to dominate the coming five to ten years in automotive industry.
“By then we will offer cars without exhaust emissions,” Stadler said. “Electric cars offer great opportunities, which we have already seized on.”
Audi has bet heavily on clean diesel technology being an effective way to improve fuel economy without sacrificing performance - its gorgeous R8 TDI concept car offers 500 horsepower and a stump-pulling 737 pound-feet of torque, and the R10 diesel racer has dominated Le Mans. But Stadler says he expects electric drive trains to join diesels in dominating the market within a decade - particularly in urban areas.
Audi has a reputation for sporty cars with elegant lines, and head of design Wolfgang Egger says it it will stick to that ethos as it develops smaller, more efficient vehicles.
The company is working on its own ways to reduce weight, start-stop technologies and other ideas such as closing flaps on the grille. Audi recently announced that it is working on its own version of a program similar to BMW Efficient dynamics.
It will be at least two years before Audi puts those practices into production. So, Add Audi to the list of automakers who plan to add an electric vehicle to their lineup.
Source: Reuters
“By then we will offer cars without exhaust emissions,” Stadler said. “Electric cars offer great opportunities, which we have already seized on.”
Audi has bet heavily on clean diesel technology being an effective way to improve fuel economy without sacrificing performance - its gorgeous R8 TDI concept car offers 500 horsepower and a stump-pulling 737 pound-feet of torque, and the R10 diesel racer has dominated Le Mans. But Stadler says he expects electric drive trains to join diesels in dominating the market within a decade - particularly in urban areas.
Audi has a reputation for sporty cars with elegant lines, and head of design Wolfgang Egger says it it will stick to that ethos as it develops smaller, more efficient vehicles.
The company is working on its own ways to reduce weight, start-stop technologies and other ideas such as closing flaps on the grille. Audi recently announced that it is working on its own version of a program similar to BMW Efficient dynamics.
It will be at least two years before Audi puts those practices into production. So, Add Audi to the list of automakers who plan to add an electric vehicle to their lineup.
Source: Reuters
