Search

Audi reaches a milestone and continues to drive forward the circular economy in the automotive industry. The company wants to increase the use of secondary materials in vehicles where it is technically feasible and makes ecological and economic sense. The aim is to increasingly use raw materials for new purposes after their initial usage has ended. Audi has therefore been testing approaches to implement this in the MaterialLoop program since 2023. After initially focusing on technical feasibility, the company has now become the first car manufacturer to develop and implement an economically viable recycling concept for recyclates from end-of-life vehicles together with its partner TSR Resource. In this process, steel scrap from vehicles at the end of their life cycle is turned into high-quality post-consumer secondary material and secured for further use in the automotive supply chain. In the first stage of expansion, starting in 2025, Audi will make several thousand preproduction vehicles available for recycling. These will be shredded by TSR Resource and processed into high-quality recycled raw materials for further use in the automotive industry. In return, Audi will have access to the secondary material obtained from these vehicles, which will be credited to a so-called digital material account. Potential material and part suppliers can access this credit balance as part of a tendering process. This gives potential contractual partners of Audi exclusive access to high-quality recycled steel raw materials that can otherwise be subject to significant price fluctuations. Economical return concept promotes resilience and recycling in the supply chain Audi plans to implement the process for additional material flows and vehicles. All raw materials that Audi currently purchases or will purchase in the future with a binding recyclate content for its vehicles are eligible.

Circular economy: keeping materials in the cycle with no loss of quality The circular economy is an alternative to linear economies, which primary rely on easily accessible primary raw materials and low-cost energy. In simple terms, the two concepts differ in their use of resources. In a linear economy, raw materials are processed once and disposed of after use. In contrast, a circular economy works by reprocessing raw materials multiple times in their original quality and reusing them again and again for the production of goods and commodities. Key steps in this approach include the maintenance, repair, refurbishment, and finally, recycling of parts and components. The circular economy is based on the idea that all parts can be used sustainably, especially if they are in operation for as long as possible and if they are used for their initial manufactured purpose without being downcycled. Among other benefits, the reuse of valuable resources can help reduce our dependency on critical primary raw materials. It can also reduce the carbon footprint when the processing of used materials results in lower emissions than the production of new primary materials. For all these reasons, Audi views the responsible use of raw materials as a central aspect of future-oriented automobile production. The aim is to develop and produce vehicles in a more resource-efficient and recycling-friendly manner, to keep them in use for as long as possible, and to recycle them to the best possible extent at the end of life. After a vehicle’s utilization phase, its materials are returned to the value chain, capturing more key resources in ‘closed cycles’ where they remain in use and decrease the need for new materials. In this endeavor, Audi follows a holistic concept based on the principles of reduce, reuse, and recycle. Reduce: fewer primary materials, longer utilization phase The reduce principle encompasses measures during the production process and the downstream utilization phase.

The project is part of Audi's circular economy strategy. Audi has set itself the goal of increasingly using secondary materials, especially from post-consumer sources, to save resources, energy, and CO₂ - precisely where it is technically feasible, ecologically sensible, and economically viable. 1Audi saved more than 480,000 metric tons of CO₂ equivalents (CO2e) in its supply chain in 2021. CO2e is a unit of measurement for standardizing the climate impact of various greenhouse gases. Here, greenhouse gas emissions are converted into CO₂ equivalents and summed up. The described emissions savings in the Audi supply chain in 2021 resulted, among other things, from using green electricity in HV battery cell production as well as closing the material cycle for aluminum and subsequent reuse of this metal. The emissions savings in the Audi supply chain in 2021 would not have been possible without these measures.

People, the environment, innovations Audi pursues the goal of a more sustainable economy and bases corporate success on compliance and values such as integrity. The company focuses on three fields of action in its supply chain: people, the environment, and innovations. Since the beginning of 2023, Daniel Patnaik has coordinated and monitored compliance with human rights within the Audi Group and across the supply chain as Human Rights Officer. “We seek to have a positive impact through our business activities and to help improve compliance with human rights globally. We are facing the associated challenges and looking to seize the opportunities along the way,” said Patnaik. “One thing is clear: Wherever people work, not only do they create value, but there are also risks that result in mistakes and violations. Respecting and ensuring human rights in a large company like Audi will never be a done deal; it requires continuous effort.” Audi develops environmental standards, consistently advocates for better working conditions – for example, when dealing with critical raw materials – and is increasingly integrating new technologies to continuously improve traceability in the supply chain and proactively promote the cooperation of its suppliers. A sustainability initiative, Act4Impact, also provides a toolbox to enable cooperation in the supply chain. With it, Audi is building a network of suppliers to work together on solutions for a more sustainable supply chain. The Act4Impact Playbook provides comprehensive information on the initiative’s principles and measures and numerous suggestions for its suppliers’ implementation. The program seeks to develop a common understanding, promote ongoing learning, and provide an opportunity for ideas and cooperation to stimulate and kick-start change. The Volkswagen Group’s Responsible Supply Chain (ReSC) system ensures human rights and environmental due diligence in procurement activities, including Audi or subsidiaries.

Thinking ahead: from decarbonization to circular production Audi set the goal to achieve net carbonneutrality1 by 2050 at the latest. The brand with the four rings has already implemented various measures along the entire value chain to support this goal. All Audi production sites worldwide have had net carbon-neutral operations since 2025. Audi uses the term “360factory” to describe its comprehensive strategy for developing a future-oriented and sustainable production network. Audi's environmental program, Mission:Zero, is a crucial element of the strategy. Audi is using it to consolidate all measures to reduce its ecological footprint in production and logistics. The program goes beyond decarbonization and addresses also the key areas of activity: sustainable water use, resource efficiency, and protecting and preserving biodiversity. The company’s vision is to establish circular production where resources such as plastics, water, and other raw materials are in closed cycles. Since the beginning of 2025, all Audi production sites worldwide have been manufacturing under net carbon-neutral conditions. The former Audi production site in Brussels made the start in 2018, with Audi Hungaria and the Böllinger Höfe sports car production facility following suit in 2020. The main Audi plant in Ingolstadt reached this important milestone at the beginning of 2024. The final steps necessary to achieve net carbon-neutral production at all Audi sites globally were then taken in Neckarsulm and San José Chiapa (Mexico). In the important Chinese market, Audi and its Chinese partner FAW started production of fully electric models at a newly built plant in Changchun at the end of 2024. The plant will be the first site for Audi models in China to aim for net carbon-neutral production. The Audi environmental program Mission:Zero also provides the framework for holistic sustainable production at that location.

To this end, Audi is pushing forward the development of innovative drive technologies and pursuing the principles of a sustainable circular economy. In other words, sustainable action starts with the procurement process and extends right up to the recycling of the vehicle. The company further intensified the implementation of the Audi environmental program Mission:Zero at the worldwide Audi locations in the reporting period with a view to achieving consistently sustainable production. All activities and measures for reducing the ecological footprint at the Audi sites worldwide in Production and Logistics are bundled in Mission:Zero. The focus is on Audi’s key challenges of decarbonization, water use, resource efficiency, and biodiversity. One important objective is to achieve net carbon-neutral production locations by 2025. To measure biodiversity at its locations, AUDI AG has developed a biodiversity index together with the Volkswagen Group that was optimized further and intensified in the 2023–2025 reporting period. Various measures are specified in the environmental programs at the individual AUDI AG locations and reviewed annually. In order to illustrate and further promote the results of our measures to preserve and protect biodiversity and ecosystems at our environmentally relevant locations, a new Biodiversity Land Use Indicator (BLI) was introduced by the Volkswagen Group in 2024. When developing this KPI, reference was made, among other things, to the EMAS Guidance on Biodiversity [1] (in German only) and the IUCN publications on No Net Loss and Net Positive Impact Approaches to Biodiversity [2]. Biodiversity in relation to the production locations is an aspect that has to be considered locally. The natural open spaces on the plant premises and those within a 30-kilometer radius of the location that belong to the Volkswagen Group are included and evaluated by this indicator.

Top 4 online topics Recycling: Audi is increasingly relying on the circular economy in the early development phase audi.com Road safety: A visit to the Audi experts for active safety functions audi.com Sustainable mobility: Felix Neureuther and Rüdiger Recknagel in interview audi.com Audi Genuine Exchange Parts: Recycling parts with the aid of industrial remanufacturing audi.com ESG Appendix 61 Materiality analysis 15 topics show what is important to Audi and its stakeholders and what impact the company has on the environment and society 66 Environmental Decarbonization, circular economy, reduction in environmental pollution: how Audi is tackling material environmental issues 108 Social How does Audi meet its responsibility in the supply chain, what defines its corporate culture and what priority does vehicle safety have?

Production processes provide a view to a circular economy To produce the steel required for all variants of the outer roof section, Audi uses steel scrap, some of which comes from end-of-life vehicles previously in use by customers. Its proportion of steel production averages up to 15 percent (mass balance approach based on currently planned production figures). The roof section is a good example of how Audi intends to use more post-consumer secondary materials in its products in the future. At the same time, this process provides an outlook for the circular economy at Audi. In this way, the four Rings reduce downcycling, i.e., the loss of the quality of materials in the recycling process, in the best possible way. Audi's vision is to reuse as many materials as possible, for example, from end-of-life vehicles, for the production of new vehicles. Maintaining materials’ high quality for as long as possible is a key objective of Audi's strategy. Audi also sets specific CO₂ targets for the identified hotspot materials and components from its suppliers. Reducing CO₂ emissions in the supply chain will, therefore, become a central goal of future Audi vehicle projects. For example, the suppliers of battery cells for the vehicle projects based on the new PPE have committed to using green electricity in production. In addition, suppliers are using CO₂-reduced aluminum for selected aluminum components, for example in the body. Integration of the production steps The Q6 e-tron family is the first fully electric high-volume model series that Audi is producing at its headquarters in Ingolstadt. In line with the 360factory production strategy, the company is focusing on integrating the individual production steps in body construction and assembly into existing structures and processes. Five-hundred new colleagues have been hired at the Ingolstadt production facility.