“It’s clear to us that electric vehicles are only the future if they are produced sustainably.”

Walker: We have set out a very clear focus on electric mobility in our corporate strategy “Vorsprung 2030.” For this reason, we are now preparing all production sites for the manufacture of electric cars. Two Audi sites already have fully electric vehicles in series production: Böllinger Höfe Neckarsulm and Brussels. With the Audi Q6 e‑tron model series, all‑electric models will also roll off the production line in Ingolstadt as of this year. And in the next few years, production of all-electric models will also gradually ramp up in Neckarsulm, San José Chiapa in Mexico and Győr in Hungary. As of 2029, all Audi production sites will manufacture at least one fully electric vehicle.

Unlike many of our competitors, we are using the existing global Audi production network for this transformation and leading all our sites into the future step by step. We are convinced that we can achieve the same level of efficiency and flexibility in this way as with a completely new plant. However, our path is significantly more sustainable because it conserves precious resources. We only build new plants where we need additional capacity. By the end of 2024 we will complete a new plant in Changchun – the first Audi car plant in China at which only fully electric Audi models will be manufactured.

Walker: It’s clear to us that electric vehicles are only the future if they are produced sustainably. The Mission:Zero environmental program therefore aims to ensure that all Audi production sites worldwide are net carbon-neutral¹ from 2025 onwards. Further sustainability targets will be added by 2030. The Audi production plants aim to reduce their absolute environmental impact in the areas of primary energy consumption, power plant emissions, CO₂ equivalents, air pollutants, local water risk as well as wastewater and waste volumes by half compared with the levels in 2018. 

We want to achieve this by generating more renewable energy in-house and implementing an increasingly circular economy, among other things. Of course, we are aware that we can only reach these goals by having the best people on our team. That is why we attach great importance to further enhancing the attractiveness of our workplaces. We want to make working hours more flexible even for employees on the assembly line, offer an attractive and modern working environment and add new jobs in disciplines such as electronics or software development.

Walker: The challenges in the logistics arena are greater than ever before. Until a few years ago, we encountered individual disruptions, some of which were only temporary and particularly intensive in certain regions, such as the volcanic eruption in Iceland that impaired air traffic in 2010. Such events were challenging but, from today’s perspective, more easily manageable. Our logistics operations are therefore crisis-tested.

Nevertheless, the current situation with global, long-lasting and overlapping crises is posing major challenges for us. The coronavirus pandemic, semiconductor shortages, globally disrupted supply chains, the war in Ukraine and a sharp rise in inflation are all creating unprecedented levels of management complexity. For example, week after week, we decide on the best possible modes of operation for our plants from around 41 trillion different options.