“The use of uniform, innovative technologies forms the basis for the vision of the production’s fully connected and digitalized future . The Neckarsulm site will play a leading role in digital production and logistics and develop and test intelligent digital solutions for the entire Group,” commented Peter Kössler, Board Member for Production and Logistics.

First use of RFID across technical sections

The technology itself is not new: Audi and other Volkswagen Group brands have been usingRFID technology for vehicle identification for a number of years in areas such as the assembly line and the body shop. However, Audi’s Neckarsulm site will now become the first automotive plant in the Group to deploy this technology across technical sections and throughout the entire production process. An RFID data carrier (“tag”) consisting of a chip and an antenna will be attached to every Audi manufactured at the location – from the Audi A4 to the fully electric e-tron GT – in the body shop during the very first stage of production. The tag will be attachedto the right rear section of the body and will stay on the vehicle as it passes through the paint shop and the assembly line right through to delivery to the customer. The chip contains an identification number. Key vehicle information, such as the body design, paintwork, motorization and equipment of the respective car, can be retrieved with the help of a reader in the production areas. Among other things, this ensures that every Audi that rolls off the production line is consistent with the configuration its new owner selected at the Audi dealer or at home.

Foundations for fully connected automotive production

This involved previously different technologies as well as paper documents in some cases, making it impossible to connect all technical sections. “In consistently using RFID technology on the vehicle throughout the entire production process, we are the first manufacturer to provide all of the relevant data on a single data carrier fully digitally and in real time,” explained Christian Schmidt, who is responsible for the project as part of the digitalization of production and logistics at the Neckarsulm site. “In this way, we are laying important foundations for the comprehensive digitalization of all our production processes,” added his colleague Thomas Vogel. 

In addition to the body shop, the paint shop and the assembly line, the universal rollout of the technology will have benefits in other non-production areas. For example, vehicle logistics will use the tags to locate and identify cars, helping to ensure that every Audi can be delivered to its new owner after completion. Audi employees can make use of a dronethat flies autonomously over the vehicle dispatch area, collecting all of the relevant data. As an important element of fully connected factories, RFID technology will establish itself as the standard across all systems at Audi’s plants worldwide over the coming years.

“On metal tags” used for the first time in production of the e-tron GT

When production of the fully electric Audi e-tron GT began in late 2020, Audi also became the first Volkswagen Group company to use RFID on metal tags (OMT) at its Neckarsulm site. This enhanced version of the data carriertakes one of its original weaknesses and turns it into a strength: Previously it was not possible to attach an RFID data carrierdirectly to the vehicle body, as this interferes with communication between the tag and the reader. The solution is to insert a spacer between the body and the tag. The OMT removes the need for this spacer. The enhanced version takes advantage of the direct contact between the vehicle and the tag: It improves transmission quality by using the body of the e-tron GT itself as an extended antenna. In the future, OMT tags will become a standard feature of the production of new vehicle models throughout the Group.

Neckarsulm to take central responsibility within the Group

Audi’s Neckarsulm site will take a leading role in the area of digital production and logistics throughout the entire Volkswagen Group in the future. The location already has extensive expertise in the areas of vehicle production, logistics and production IT (large-scale and small-series production). The transformation is intended to strengthen these competencies in a targeted manner while developing the plant into a leading location in the area of digital production and logistics. Neckarsulm is focusing on “end-to-end factory transformation” and the provision of tried-and-tested innovative IT solutions throughout the Volkswagen Group.

Article source: www.audi-mediacenter.com

“After a demanding 2020 season for global motorsport, we’re making a statement and committing early to a major international program in 2021,” says Chris Reinke, Head of Audi Sport customer racing. “The Intercontinental GT Challenge as the world’s most high-profile GT3 series is at the heart of this, just like the Nürburgring 24 Hours.” Audi has already won an IGTC title and the 24-hour race in the Eifel five times each. 

Audi Sport customer racing is also watching two other competitions with interest. The FIA Motorsport Games are scheduled for October 2021 at Le Castellet. Teams from Audi already successfully competed in the first edition in 2019 with the Audi R8 LMS and Audi RS 3 LMS models in this multidisciplinary competition, a kind of Olympics of motorsport, held by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA). The traditional road race in Macau in November marks another highlight. This GT sports car race has existed since 2008 and was held as the FIA GT World Cup between 2015 and 2019. Audi has already won the competition four times. Most recently, two of the brand’s private customer teams clinched two podium places in November 2020.

This program complements the worldwide commitment of customers. In America, Asia, Australia, Europe and South Africa, private teams as well as importer teams field the brand’s various models with great success year after year. Audi Sport customer racing has been providing drivers from its squad for the corresponding GT3 programs for many years. This applies in particular to teams that enter the GT World Challenge Europe, the ADAC GT Masters and, for the first time, the newly aligned DTM.

This driver squad will again include Audi Sport drivers Mattia Drudi, Rahel Frey, Christopher Haase, Pierre Kaffer, Kelvin van der Linde, Christopher Mies, Patric Niederhauser, Frank Stippler, Dries Vanthoor, Frédéric Vervisch and Markus Winkelhock in 2021. Two young drivers will get a chance to prove themselves for the first time at Audi Sport customer racing in the 2021 season. Dennis Marschall has already shown his talent in the Audi Sport TT Cup in 2015 and 2016. With the Rutronik Racing outfit, the 24-year-old German student from Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen has repeatedly shown top performances as a privateer driver in the ADAC GT Masters over the past two years, including two pole positions in the season that has just ended. In addition, he contested two major international events in the IGTC for the first time in 2020 at Spa and Kyalami. Charles Weerts will also be driving for Audi Sport customer racing in the future. At just 19 years of age, the Belgian is the youngest driver to date to have won the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup in the Audi R8 LMS and most recently finished second in the IGTC finale at Kyalami.

In addition, several of the best DTM drivers will again be part of the Audi Sport driver squad in 2021. Mike Rockenfeller, the 2013 champion, and Nico Müller, the current runner-up, will continue to drive for the four rings in the future. René Rast, the winner from 2017, 2019 and 2020, will contest the FIA Formula E World Championship for Audi. In addition, selected customer racing events complement his program. All three drivers have also strengthened the customer racing driver squad in major competitions over many years. Outstanding successes include René Rast’s victory in the 2014 Nürburgring 24 Hours, Nico Müller’s win a year later, and Rast’s victories in the 2012 and 2014 Spa 24 Hours.

Question: Mr. Lichte, the wait will soon be over. Audi will introduce the e-tron GT on February 9. Is the presentation of such a model still exciting even after seven years of being the brand’s Head of Design?
Marc Lichte: The world premiere is a magic moment. That applies to the entire Audi Design team as well as to me personally. The presentation of a new car is the culmination of a development process that usually takes four years. It is a long road that involves a great deal of work, many discussions, and difficult decisions at times. However, in the end, we are all proud to present the result of our joint efforts.

Proud is the keyword here. With your assessment of the show car, you really set the bar high for the e-tron GT. What distinguishes the design of the car?
Lichte: Good design is achieved when a product is aesthetic and functional at the same time, and when it becomes part of a seamless overall experience. The foundation for aesthetics lies in the proportions: short overhangs and a long wheelbase combined with a lean cabin on a powerful body. The e-tron GT features all of the above.

Would it be presumptuous to refer to this car as the new design icon from Audi?
Lichte: Yes, without a doubt. After all, you cannot create a design icon on the drawing board. A car must acquire this reputation on the road – in an overstimulated environment that creates the will to strive for orientation. True design icons have something that is unmistakably clear: For example, it takes only three lines to characterize a VW Beetle or a Porsche 911. They stand for a clear attitude.

And what attitude does Audi want to convey with the e-tron GT?
Lichte: That is definitely “Vorsprung durch Technik” – or to quote our new brand strategy: “Living Progress.” Over the course of our history, certain models have shaped this claim in a special way: The A2 represented ruthless efficiency, the TT stood for formalistic design, and the R8 for uncompromising performance. The question with regard to the e-tron GT is therefore not whether it is a design icon but how exactly it expresses our attitude. In other words, the question is how it reinterprets “Vorsprung durch Technik.”

What course are you setting now?
Lichte: The e-tron GT is a gran turismo. This term originally stood for sports cars that were suited for long-distance races. GT models thus differ from pure sports cars in that they offer greater comfort and a larger interior. As a fully electric gran turismo, the e-tron GT reinterprets this balancing act by not reducing performance to the sheer output but by attributing a special creative importance to efficiency as well.

Efficiency as the basic idea for the design. What exactly does that mean?
Lichte: Lower air resistance translates into greater range: We have turned this basic law of physics of electric mobility into the design principle for the e-tron GT. Form follows function, aesthetics arise from efficiency. The new design language creates a stronger flow and thereby creates refined aerodynamics. The design of the e-tron GT thus forms the basis for the design of future electric models.

That’s all for the exterior. But how can you express efficiency in the design of the interior?
Lichte: Electric mobility adds to the lightness and functionality of the interior – with as much space as in the next-higher segment. Compact on the outside, spacious on the inside. We therefore gave the e-tron GT a sculptural basic architecture that emphasizes not only the typical sportiness of a GT with its clear driver focus but also its sustainability. The show car from 2018 served as the prototype for the series production model. It features its own equipment line that uses no leather whatsoever but instead makes a point of relying on recycled materials.

A sporty gran turismo that positions itself based on efficiency and sustainability. Is this the new attitude you mentioned earlier?
Lichte: That puts it in a nutshell. Sustainability begins with the initial idea and is expressed through the design. The e-tron GT is thereby pushing an idea that will characterize our understanding of luxury in the course of electric mobility.

Article source: www.audi-mediacenter.com

“Thanks to an extremely strong performance internationally by our team, around the middle of last year we emerged from the first wave of corona. Following a strong third quarter, this made a major contribution to the successful final push in 2020,” says Hildegard Wortmann, Board Member for Sales and Marketing at AUDI AG. “The global situation continues to be challenging at present. Nevertheless, for 2021 we have set ourselves ambitious targets, aim to achieve continued growth, and view the future with optimism.” 

Through the expansion of digital sales and service offerings, for example Audi Live consultation, the Four Rings brand has reacted flexibly and successfully to the challenges of the corona pandemic. Ongoing digitalization of sales and experience gained during the first wave of coronavirus in spring have contributed strongly to Audi ending 2020 with the most successful quarter-year in the company’s history. 

AUDI AG is continuing its transformation into a provider of sustainable premium mobility and is by some distance the biggest maker of electric vehicles among the three German premium brands. The successful Audi e-tron model (including the Audi e-tron Sportback) registered a significant increase in demand last year, with growth of 79.5 percent (47,324 cars) compared with the previous year. The Audi e-tron is the global top seller among electric vehicles made by German premium manufacturers. In Norway it is even the best-selling of all models. In Germany the Audi e-tron (including the Audi e-tron Sportback) was able to more than double its sales volume in the final quarter in comparison with the previous year.

In respect of other models in the range, Audi increased deliveries especially for the Audi Q3 (+18.1% in comparison to the previous year) and the Audi A6 (+11.8%). The high-performance models from Audi Sport were also extremely popular with customers: More than 29,300 cars delivered in 2020 marks a new best, and a clear increase of 16.1 percent compared with the previous year. 

In China Audi supplied more cars to customers last year than ever before. A total of 727,358 automobiles represents a rise of 5.4 percent. The fourth quarter, too, was more successful than any previous period, with 214,467 cars supplied (+7.7%). In the largest market for the Four Rings, rapid economic recovery and high demand for individual mobility led to new record figures. The development was especially positive for the Audi Q2 (+33.8%), the Audi A6 (+41.1%), the Audi A7 (+142.1%), and the Audi A8 (+13.8%).

In the USA 186,620 deliveries of new cars represented a fall of -16.7 percent year on year. Strong consumer demand and the upward trend towards the close of the year demonstrate that the outlook for 2021 is favorable, however. Rising demand can be seen in the SUV segment above all: the share of SUVs in 2020 was 66 percent, and in the fourth quarter it rose to as much as 74 percent. Significant impulses came in the year as a whole from the Audi Q3 (+83.9%) and the Audi e-tron (+10%). In the final quarter the sales performance of the Audi Q5 (+15%) and the Audi Q8 (+11%) was particularly strong.

In Europe, car deliveries declined in 2020 by 19.5 percent to 619,723 units. Nevertheless, the trend was positive for the Audi e-tron (+80.6%, including the Audi e-tron Sportback) and the Audi Q7 (+6.3%). In the fourth quarter an upwards trend was already evident again, despite increasing restrictions resulting from the coronavirus pandemic: the delivery of 178,891 cars between October and December was a rise of 2.5 percent compared to the previous year. In Germany the company supplied 214,427 cars to customers (-21.1%). In Audi’s home market, demand rose clearly again in the fourth quarter: 61,231 vehicles delivered represented a rise of 9.2 percent.

Article source: www.audi-mediacenter.com