Managers expect wave of consolidation in the industry: Audi wants to invest 15 billion euros in electric offensive

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E for Audi:

Boss

(r.) Is also

Chief

in the Volkswagen Group.

Photo: 

Audi

The car manufacturer Audi plans to spend almost half of its investments on electric and hybrid vehicles in the next five years.

The Volkswagen subsidiary announced on Wednesday that of the planned research and development work and investments of 35 billion euros, ten billion euros are earmarked for electromobility and five billion euros for hybrids.

At the same time, Audi reaffirmed its goal of reducing costs in other areas by 15 billion euros by 2022.

A year ago, the company decided to cut a total of 9,500 jobs by 2025.

The parent company Volkswagen announced in mid-November that it would be entering the race with Tesla for the leading role in electric mobility with a huge budget of 73 billion euros.

In the next five years, the world's largest car manufacturer is investing 35 billion euros in new e-cars and the conversion of the plants.

Group boss

(62), who is also the chief supervisor of Audi, and development

(51), who is also head of Audi, want to convert Volkswagen into a mobility company that offers digital services in addition to electric vehicles and self-driving cars.

Audi is to assume the leading role within the group and globally.

"We are equipping Audi with the necessary power for this," explained Diess.

Within the group, Audi is to develop a cross-brand premium electric platform together with Porsche and at the same time use the group technology of the modular electrification kit (MEB).

The manufacturer plans to expand its e-portfolio to around 30 models by 2025, around 20 of which are battery-powered vehicles.

Audi boss Duessmann becomes the central figure.

He is now also chairing the supervisory board of the Car.Software organization, in which the group's software development is bundled in order to develop an operating system with basic functions for all group vehicles.

Audi hopes that this will give it competitive advantages.

According to

(49), the

trend towards electrification, networking and automation of vehicles will

trigger a wave of consolidation in the automotive industry.

"Not everyone will be able to afford these complex platforms," ​​said the head of the "Artemis" development project at Audi at an event for the Financial Times.

A smaller number of larger actors will drive the transformation forward.

The increasing complexity of cars means that the traditional outsourcing of work to suppliers no longer works, said Hitzinger.

In addition, larger corporations would benefit from the necessary high investment sums with simultaneously falling sales figures in the Corona crisis. 

lhy / Reuters