Audi's EVs and RS cars will revive brand, VW Group CEO says

Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blume has promised to revive the fortunes of Audi after admitting the brand’s lineup was “lagging the competition,” particularly when it came to electric vehicles.

As part of a shakeup at the Audi, which also includes the Bentley, Lamborghini and Ducati marques, the brands have been reclassified as “progressive” in an effort to speed up change at the group, Blume told investors at VW Group’s Capital Markets Day on Wednesday.

Audi has “massive potential,” Blume said, adding that this has not been realized in recent years.

“We did not defend the [brand’s] progressive leadership in its position against key competitors. We also faced severe software problems that delayed the launch plan of exciting electric products.”

Blume said Audi’s current model lineup is not only lagging the competition, but -- even more worryingly -- lagging behind its own capabilities.

As evidence of this, Blume cited the brand’s subpar performance in China.

“The footprint of the group is currently highly dependent on China and the battery electric vehicle lineup in particular is not competitive in comparison with this market,” Blume said.

Audi delivered 136,416 vehicles in China in the first three months, down 16 percent on the year before, according to figures from the brand.

Audi's revival of Audi will focus on the faster development of electric cars, Blume said. He highlighted the brand’s sports-oriented models as offering big potential in this area.

“The growing RS franchise is a highly attractive business, both from a customer as well as from a financial viewpoint,” Blume said. “Therefore, we are already planning a high-performance BEV lineup.”

Audi has “huge opportunities" with the upcoming product product launches, beginning next year, Blume said.

In 2024, Audi will launch the Q6 E-tron, the brand's first vehicle on Volkswagen Group’s PPE (premium platform electric) architecture. The full-electric crossover will have VW Group's much-delayed 1.2 software.

The Porsche e-Macan, also on this platform, will arrive at the same time.

The PPE platform will allow faster charging times averaging just 21 minutes to go from 10 percent to 80 percent of battery capacity, VW Group says. It will also offer semi-autonomous driving features from Mobileye’s SuperVision system.

Audi is leading the development of the compact and midsize elements of the SSP (Scalable Systems Platform) electric architecture that Blume has promised will be rolled out to its original timetable starting 2026, despite software delays.

Blume did not mention Audi’s Artemis project, that was announced under former VW Group CEO Herbert Diess, and was intended to launch the SSP platform.

Audi has been given a 13 percent margin target for 2030, up from 11 percent in the first three months for the entire Audi Group. Audi as a brand was not broken out.

“Audi has strong financial ambitions,” Blume said, adding that the brand wants to focus on what makes it different by staying true to its design language and high quality standards, while providing “the best-in-class individualized customer experience.”