► Audi announces €3bn product splurge in 2016
► New Q2 and electric crossover confirmed
► Growth: the antidote to #Dieselgate
Here’s a post-Christmas present for Audi fans: Ingolstadt has announced a €3 billion capital investment programme for 2016, as it prepares to grow its range of cars to 60 – sixty! – different models.
Take that claim with a pinch of salt; Audi includes sports variants, such as the S3, as separate derivatives. But it still amounts to a sizeable increase from today’s range of 50 products.
Click here for more on Audi’s range proliferation.
Confirmed: new Audi Q2 and electric SUV
Chief executive Rupert Stadler confirmed the Q2 (below) would be launched in 2016 and the Q5 will be replaced with the second-generation SUV the same year.
‘A significant proportion of our investment is naturally in the field of alternative drive systems,’ said Stadler, confirming that Audi would launch the company’s first all-electric car in 2018 – a Q6 production version of the E-Tron Quattro concept (below). The trend for electrifying crossovers continues, as established manufacturers play catch-up with Tesla and its Model X.
Audi spending – and saving too
Half of the huge €3bn capital investment will be spent on upgrading the production lines at Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm in Germany. But in a note to investors Audi confirmed it would also scrutinise costs and admitted it had postponed the construction of a new wind tunnel.
Post #Dieselgate, spending is under scrutiny like never before. Audi is trying to ensure that it pivots to become a more eco-friendly, digital-savvy company than ever before.
