BMW has Efficient Dynamics, Mercedes has BlueEfficiency and Audi has… what? On the surface, Audi seems to have missed the green boat entirely, having not created an eco-brand to act as an environmentally friendly halo for its mainstream range. Audi says this isn’t the case; it’s not late to the party – it’s not coming at all.
Surely it’s just excuse because Audi missed the Efficient Dynamics bandwagon?
Not so, according to a well placed source we spoke to. If Audi wanted a green brand, it could create one tomorrow, as Citroen did earlier in the week with its Airdream tag. But there is no eco branding on the drawing board at Ingolstadt and there won’t be any more ‘e’ models, either.
The reasoning? According to Audi, in a few years’ time all cars will have ‘green’ technology like stop-start tech anyway, rendering these specially created brands worthless. Audi just doesn’t see a worthy return on any investment in a green brand.
Ok, so when will Audi go green?
Our engineering mole claims it already is. The A3 ‘e’ was the first step and the latest Q5 is the second. A compact SUV green? Hardly. But it does have a smattering of fuel-saving tech, including a gearshift indicator designed to optimise efficiency, not performance.
And the Q5’s third-generation MMI sat-nav system also comes with the option of the most economical route.
Click ‘Next’ to read about the new, cleaner Audi models under development
There’s more to come. The Q7 V12 TDI due in autumn 2008 gets AdBlue technology to reduce NOx emissions by about 80 percent.
What about stop/start Audis?
Be patient. Audi’s stop-start systems will arrive in 2009, on the A4 and A6, where Audi believes the biggest gains can be made through a mixture of high sales and potential efficiency savings. Showcasing it on the A8 would be undemocratic, engineers claim.
Anything else?
The third-generation MMI system will soon be able to appropriately inform the driver of how economical their driving is. But rather than teach the person behind the wheel, making the whole process laborious and monotonous, Audi is keen to make the process fun.
So expect Audis of the future to challenge you to match or best your previous day’s fuel consumption. It sounds like the system found in the Toyota Prius – but you’ll be scored on just how green you are.
Click here to read more about Audi’s clean fuel tech