Audi to add 5G connectivity to its Wi-Fi offering in 2024

Owners will soon be able to add two more letters to the description of upcoming Audi vehicles: 5G.

Audi of America said Tuesday that it will partner with wireless service provider Verizon to bring 5G connectivity to Audi vehicles, beginning in the 2024 model year, enabling faster Internet connection speeds and over-the-air upgrades, among other features.

Audi has been enabling cellular-driven Wi-Fi connectivity in many of its vehicles in the U.S. since it introduced the service on the 2012 Audi A7 with the original AudiConnect. The German premium brand has also been experimenting for years with cellular-based V2X — vehicle-to-everything — technologies that would allow vehicles to, for example, time traffic lights to reduce instances of stopping, which wastes fuel, or alert drivers if a school bus is stopped with its flashers on. The 5G bandwidths and low latency improve that technology.

"Audi drivers will be among the first in the world to experience a new generation of automobiles, one in which their car is both a 5G mobile device and a vehicle," Tami Erwin, CEO of Verizon Business, said in a written statement.

"Audi was the first automaker to bring in-vehicle Wi-Fi to customers as well as 4G LTE connectivity in the 2015 A3, and we will be among the first to bring the next generation of connectivity to our customers in the U.S.," Filip Brabec, senior vice president of product management for Audi of America, said in a written statement.