Shortly after announcing its strategy shift towards electric vehicles, Audi gave some insights into its new offensive.
Ingolstadt recently declared it will boost spending on cleaner vehicles over the next decade, planning to invest a third of its R&D budget in digital services, electric cars and autonomous driving by 2025 – thus following Volkswagen’s intentions to concentrate on an eco-friendly future.
It looks like things are happening a lot faster at Audi. According to Automotive News, CEO Rupert Stadler told daily Heilbronner Stimme that the company aims to offer three electric models by 2020, intends its electric vehicles to account for 25 to 30 percent of its sales by 2025 and plans to include a small (A-Segment) all-electric model in its line-up.
The German car maker reportedly intends to set up a subsidiary as well. Called SDS Company, the business will concentrate on developing an autonomous car:
“This is about a robot car that may not even need a steering wheel or pedals, so it’s ideal for urban traffic,” Stadler said, although Audi is still looking for venture partners who would help it with the technology.
Undoubtedly a strong plan, but so far, Audi said it will build an electric SUV at its plant in Belgium, based on the e-tron quattro concept.
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