The Audi headquarters in Ingolstadt is the first Audi plant in Germany with its own battery assembly facility Integration of production into existing body shop and assembly structures The Q6 e-tron series rolls off the production line in Ingolstadt with net zero emissions
Since production started in late 2023, the Audi Q6 e-tron series has been the first high-volume fully electric model series that Audi has produced at its headquarters in Ingolstadt. In keeping with the brand’s 360factory production strategy, Audi has integrated individual production steps into existing body shop and assembly structures and processes. Since January 1, 2024, Ingolstadt is the third Audi location to manufacture with net zero emissions1, following Brussels (2018) and Győr (2020). In addition, the brand with the four rings’ headquarters is also the first Audi location in Germany to have its own battery assembly facility.
Audi CEO Gernot Döllner emphasizes the significance of the first model based on the Premium Platform Electric (PPE): “The PPE, and with it the Q6 e-tron series, form the basis for subsequent electric Audi models. In this way, we are taking a decisive step towards offering an electric model in all core segments by 2027.” Audi Board Member for Production and Logistics Gerd Walker sees the start of production as an important milestone for the 360factory production strategy: “By the end of the decade, we will have successively equipped all Audi locations for the production of electric models. We are harnessing electrification to comprehensively transform our existing plants. With the production of the Q6 e-tron series, the Ingolstadt plant is taking the next step towards becoming a 360factory.” Audi has a clear vision for the production of the future. As part of this holistic, sustainable approach, the company is modernizing, digitalizing, and transforming its existing plants.
Four weeks of music for Ingolstadt and the region: The Audi Summer Concerts will take place from June 22 to July 21, 2024 The program is being published today: Tickets for all concerts and events are now available for purchase Highlights include the in-house production “The Fairy Queen” with The Flying Steps, Sir Simon Rattle and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and Jazzrausch Bigband
With their top-quality performances of classical music and experimental formats, the Audi Summer Concerts have long been well-known and loved in the Ingolstadt region and beyond. In 2024, the major music festival will take place from June 22 to July 21, with a program that will again feature symphony concerts, chamber music, and excursions into jazz, as well as musical experiences for young people and children. The spectrum ranges from an in-house production of the opera “The Fairy Queen” with a touch of breakdancing and the children’s concert classic “Hansel and Gretel” to a public workshop for Ingolstadt schoolchildren. Opening night will feature the Audi Young Persons’ Choral Academy performing Beethoven’s “Missa solemnis”.
Additional festival highlights include a performance by Sir Simon Rattle and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and a “border crossing” into jazz with a reinterpretation of Gustav Mahler by Jazzrausch Bigband. The Audi Classic Open Air will take place on June 29 and 30, with performances by the Audi Philharmonic Wind Orchestra and the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra with star violinist Veronika Eberle under the direction of Kent Nagano. The Classic Open Air concerts are Audi’s way of bringing classical music to a wide range of people. Xavier Ros, Member of the Board of Management for Human Resources and Organization at AUDI AG, emphasizes: “In the city, for the city: Our 2024 Summer Concerts will once again be an unforgettable music festival for young and old – and for all of us in Ingolstadt and the region.”
This allowed the Ingolstadt engineers to fashion a car with a relatively large interior despite its total length of 3.49 meters. Two versions of the “mini Audi,” which weighs just 685 kilograms, were launched: the Audi 50 LS with 50 PS and the Audi 50 GL with 60 PS, both with 1.1-liter engines. The Audi 50 LS had a maximum speed of 142 kph, while the Audi 50 GL maxed out at 152 kph. The 50-PS version used regular gasoline, but the more powerful 60-PS car needed super-gasoline. In 1977, the latter variant was replaced by a newly developed 1,300 cc engine, which ran on ordinary gasoline. Responsibility for designing the appearance of the Audi 50 was entrusted to Hartmut Warkuß, who had previously designed the Audi 80. Warkuß crafted a delicate, timeless form around the package built by Ludwig Kraus. The Ingolstadt team presented the Audi 50 to the international media in Sardinia in the summer of 1974. It reached dealers for the first time on October 26: the Audi 50 LS was priced at 8,195 Deutschmarks, and the Audi 50 GL at 8,510 Deutschmarks. The “mini Audi” was planned and developed initially at Neckarsulm and later at Technical Development Ingolstadt and was built at the Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg. Precisely 43,002 Audi 50 models had come off the assembly lines in Wolfsburg by March 31, 1975, when production also started on the structurally almost identical VW Polo. Production of the Audi 50 ceased in the summer of 1978, by which time 180,828 models had been built. From then on, Audi has concentrated more on mid-range and higher-end cars. Even if the Audi 50 blossomed only for a few short years, it established the small-car segment in the Volkswagen Group; subsequently, millions of VW Polos were built over its various generations.
Production of the upcoming fully electric Audi Q6 e-tron series, as well as all other vehicles built at the site, will be net carbon-neutral Audi Board Member for Production and Logistics Gerd Walker: “By transitioning the Ingolstadt site to renewable energies, we are taking a major step toward our goal of net carbon-neutral vehicle production” As part of the environmental program Mission:Zero, all Audi sites will be net carbon-neutral by 2025
The Audi plant in Ingolstadt began net carbon-neutral production on January 1, 2024. After Brussels (Belgium, 2018) and Győr (Hungary, 2020), it is the third Audi plant to operate with net zero emissions. In addition are the Audi R8 and e-tron GT quattro models, which have been built at Böllinger Höfe with net zero emissions since 2020. As part of its Mission:Zero environmental program, Audi has set itself the goal of achieving net carbon neutrality at all its sites worldwide by 2025. By then, the final steps will have been taken in Neckarsulm and San José Chiapa (Mexico).
Audi Board Member for Production and Logistics Gerd Walker emphasizes: “Protecting the environment as best as possible is firmly anchored in Audi’s corporate strategy. By transitioning the Ingolstadt site to renewable energies, we are taking a major step toward our goal of net carbon-neutral1 vehicle production.” To achieve its ambitious goal, the brand with the four rings is implementing a four-pillar concept.
1. Increasing energy efficiency In the first pillar, Audi is improving energy efficiency at its sites, which will already avoid large amounts of carbon emissions.
“The PPE and with it the Audi Q6 e-tron series are the next technological leap for electric premium mobility – this applies to Audi and the Volkswagen Group and for our customers”, said Gernot Döllner, Chairman of the Board of Management of AUDI AG, at the world premiere at the company’s headquarters in Ingolstadt. “The PPE demonstrates how we are pooling our expertise within the Volkswagen Group to make electric mobility scalable. Thanks to the PPE, we are able to launch high-volume, technologically advanced models in various segments and thus further electrify our portfolio,” the Audi CEO added. As Döllner points out, the flexibility of the PPE will help ensure future models each have their unique character in addition to Audi’s characteristic DNA. From the outset, the PPE’s technical components were developed with the particular requirements of battery electric vehicles in mind and grouped according to functionality. The new architecture harnesses all the benefits of fully electric vehicles. The components feature a modular design. “As the first model series on the new PPE, the Audi Q6 e-tron sets standards in efficiency, range, charging speed, and design”, emphasized Gernot Döllner. Contributing features include the 800-volt architecture, powerful electric motors, and a modern battery and charging management system. The PPE allows sufficient wheelbase, track width, and ground clearance to accommodate both high-floor and flat-floor models, resulting in design, weight, and efficiency benefits. Battery assembly facility in Ingolstadt increases vertical integration The Audi Q6 e-tron series marks the first time a fully electric model will be made in Ingolstadt. In addition, the headquarters is also the first Audi location in Germany to have its own battery assembly facility.
Ingolstadt is ready for its first all-electric model: the Audi Q6 e-tron. New skills are required for this. Over 8,300 employees from Production, Technical Development and Sales have therefore undergone further training - and are boldly breaking new ground in the world of electric mobility. Seven examples.
Maria Salbeck switches to battery assembly
At Audi's headquarters in Ingolstadt, 27-year-old Maria Salbeck has decided to switch to electric mobility. The trained mechatronics technician for automation technology has undergone further training to become an expert in new battery assembly. She previously worked in the paint shop as a plant operator and at the Audi Training Center as a co-trainer. "Then I wanted to get back into production, back to the product," says Salbeck. She is now responsible for a wide range of battery assembly technologies and oversees an entire assembly line section. It is a step she does not regret. "If you want to, you have the opportunity to try out a lot of things at Audi and to develop personally," says Salbeck. "Sometimes you have to take a more difficult path and dare to jump in at the deep end." Salbeck's recipe for success is approaching each other and working together openly and closely as a team.
Attila Kovacs plans drive systems for the Premium Platform Electric
Attila Kovacs has worked at Audi for 25 years. In 2019, he switched from combustion engines to electric drives within Production Planning at Audi Hungaria in Győr. For Kovacs, switching to e-mobility was a pragmatic decision: "This technology will take on a leading role in the future. I want to play my part in this." Following series production of the Audi e-tron motor, since 2021, he and his team have been planning the drives for the Premium Platform Electric (PPE), on which the new Audi Q6 e-tron series, for example, is based.
All three driver teams visit Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm Board of Management and thousands of plant employees welcome the Dakar winners Autographs around the works meetings
Team Audi Sport received a warm welcome in its home country after winning the Dakar Rally. At the Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm sites, the winners Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz and their teammates Emil Bergkvist and Stéphane Peterhansel/Edouard Boulanger appeared before the workforce. The Board of Management of AUDI AG also welcomed the successful motorsport drivers, who drove their electrically powered off-road prototypes around the two factory sites and signed numerous autographs.
“Victories such as the success at the Dakar Rally are among the greatest milestones in Audi’s motorsport history,” says Gernot Döllner, Chairman of the Board of Management of AUDI AG. “With the electrified drive, Audi has proven its “Vorsprung durch Technik” in one of the toughest competitions in the world. For the enthusiastic Audi employees, it was a great experience to see their successful motorsport drivers here in Germany.” On Wednesday, the three drivers and their co-drivers visited the plant in Ingolstadt. In addition to a tour of the site, the professional drivers also signed numerous autographs and attended the works meeting. There, Audi CEO Gernot Döllner introduced the successful rally drivers to the workforce and congratulated them on their success. A kind of bivouac around an original service truck exuded real rally flair on the Audi Piazza.
In the evening, CEO Gernot Döllner and the other board members welcomed the rally drivers and the team of Audi Head of Motorsport Rolf Michl in Neuburg an der Donau. A victory celebration on the Audi Sport premises marked the festive highlight of the day. The striking Dakar Rally trophy completes an impressive collection of the most important trophies from four and a half decades of motorsport at Audi.
With the Q6 e-tron range, e-mobility is coming from the Ingolstadt plant for the first time. The Audi Q6 e-tron quattro and SQ6 e-tron will be available to order from March 2024 at a price of 74.700 and 93.800 euros and will be delivered to customers in the third quarter of 2024.
The PPE, developed jointly with Porsche, and the E3 1.2 electronic architecture are important milestones in the expansion of Audi's global range of electrically powered models. They mark the start of a comprehensive strengthening and rejuvenation of the model portfolio. The Q6 e-tron underpins Audi’s promise to offer electric vehicles in all core segments by 2027. “Built on the new PPE platform, the Audi Q6 e-tron is the next technological leap in premium electric mobility for our customers," said Gernot Döllner, Chairman of the Board of Management of AUDI AG, at the world premiere at the main plant in Ingolstadt. "The PPE shows how we are pooling expertise within the Volkswagen Group and thus making electric mobility scalable. Thanks to the PPE, we are able to launch high-volume models with high technical standards in different segments and thus further electrify our portfolio," the Audi CEO added. The flexibility of the PPE helps in giving the future models their independent character and the typical Audi DNA, despite shared technical underpinnings.