Audi does electric top down

Audi will adopt a top-down strategy in its roll out of electric vehicles. That's the verdict from Audi AG Board of Management member, Peter Schwarzenbauer, the German luxury marque's global head of sales and marketing.

In Australia to open Audi's new $50m headquarters in Zetland on the southern edge of Sydney's CBD last week, Schwarzenbauer stated the company saw no business case in introducing small EVs and instead vowed to introduce electric drive in upper end vehicles first. He also took a swipe at marketeers of hybrid vehicles, stating they were inferior in real world terms -- in comparison to modern diesels.

According to Schwarzenbauer plans to introduce small EVs do not make financial sense.

"If you go back to the past all major new technology was introduced top down. I have a hard time to understand now the only discussion about electric cars is very small cars.

"BMW showed 500 MINIs which are driving around with batteries; smart will have a battery in it... I have a hard time to understand what the business case would be behind all this," he opined.

"A current battery package to drive a car around costs roughly 12-15,000 Euros -- just the battery pack. So if you take a small car which is roughly also 12-15,000 [Euros] that means you are doubling the price... And I don't know how much environmentally you have to be convinced that you spend double the money to drive electric. I don't see that this is a real business case.

Schwarzenbauer says Audi's EV strategy will become obvious at next month's Frankfurt show, where an electric version of the R8 (pictured) is rumoured to make its debut.

"I think electric car technology has to be introduced like all the other technologies in the world, top down.

"Our approach will be a completely different one. We will start at the top-end. You mentioned now R8, I'm not confirming that, but [we will introduce something] at the top end and very, very sporty and we are going to show at the upcoming Frankfurt what we think the right way is of getting into electric era," Schwarzenbauer revealed.

"We think for a premium brand it makes much more sense to start top down. So our approach is to start at the high end," he opined.

Hybrid holds less attraction to the brand, according to the marketing and sales boss however.

"Hybrid is a technology you have to get engaged in, not because we think hybrid is the solution but hybrid is a step towards fully electric drive -- so you need the experience," Schwarzenbauer explained.

"On the other hand -- and you look at purely the facts of what the fuel consumption is all about -- when you see that some of our competitors here have one model offering a hybrid, we have current 21 models in the Australian market with a fuel consumption below 7.0L/100km.

"It's sometime more interesting to write about the new technology like hybrid but the facts are different. The facts are not one hybrid can really achieve what we can do today with a modern TDI engine.

"But of course in the public perception diesel is an old technology. Maybe we're not good enough in communicating it how modern today's diesel engine is..." he opined.

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