(August 31, 2021) INGOLSTADT, Germany — Production of Audi’s final new combustion engine model will start in just four years. Beginning in 2026, the premium brand will only release models onto the market that are powered purely by electricity. The manufacturer will phase out the production of internal combustion engines by 2033. In order to become a leading provider of net-zero  carbon mobility, Audi is also optimizing every link in its value chain and, moreover, committing itself to the expansion of renewable energy.

On the spotlight “Sustainability” at Audi Media Days prior to the IAA, the company presented, among other things, its vision of a climate-neutral factory and showed how sustainability is implemented in the supply chain.

Audi wants to be a net-zero carbon emissions company by no later than 2050. By 2025, the company plans to offer more than 20 fully electric, battery-driven cars. At the same time, Audi wants to reduce the ecological footprint of its fleet – specifically, by 30 percent as compared with 2015. One central goal is to make production carbon neutral at all sites by 2025. This has already been achieved as an interim target at Audi Hungaria and Audi Brussels. The premium brand is keeping all its processes in sight: the sourcing of raw materials and production itself, but also the utilization phase and recycling or reuse at the end of a car’s life cycle.



Through the transition to e-mobility, a portion of total carbon emissions is being transferred to the supply chain. Above all, that applies to electric cars’ lithium-ion batteries, which require particularly energy-intensive production. For perspective, that is where almost a quarter of all carbon emissions will be produced per car at Audi. That's why the company is starting right at this early phase. Intelligent use of resources will save materials and reduce energy consumption. In turn, this will reduce carbon dioxide emissions in upstream production processes and lower levels of the supply chain.

For that reason, Audi is taking steps, together with its suppliers, that address this early phase of manufacturing above all. By 2018, the company had already initiated the “CO2 Program in the Supply Chain” to identify steps to further reduce CO2 together with its suppliers. “We are convinced that our suppliers play a key role in our success with respect to sustainability,” says Marco Philippi, head of Procurement Strategy at Audi.

Opportunities can be found primarily in closed material cycles, a gradual increase in the use of secondary materials, application of materials from recycling processes known as “recyclates” in plastic components, and using green electricity. These measures will also be in full operation by 2025 and, according to calculations by Audi and its suppliers, have the potential to save an average of 1.2 tons of CO2 per car. In 2020 alone, Audi was able to save a total of over 335,000 tons of CO2 in its supply chain. That amounts to a reduction of 35,000 tons of CO2 released in comparison with 2019.

One example of more sustainability in the supply chain is the switch to renewable energy. By contrast, for instance, high-voltage battery cells have to be produced with green electricity. That was the case for Audi’s very first electric model, the Audi e-tron*, and it still applies today. Moreover, Audi is committed to various initiatives and, together with other partners, campaigning for adherence to human rights and environmental protection in its supply chain.

That includes membership in the Global Battery Alliance. This worldwide platform was started in 2017 on the initiative of the World Economic Forum. It brings public and private actors together to sustainably organize the battery value chain from a social, environmental technology, and economic perspective.

Another example of how Audi is bringing more sustainability into the supply chain is secondary materials. Audi returns the aluminum scraps from the press plant to the supplier for processing and then gets it back in the form of newly processed aluminum coils. This means that less primary aluminum is necessary and less carbon is emitted. Introducing the “Aluminum Closed Loop” in Audi’s press plant was able to prevent a total of about 165,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2020. Now, Neckarsulm, Ingolstadt, and, starting in 2021, Győr are also implementing the Aluminum Closed Loop.