Ingolstadt is ready for its first all-electric model: the Audi Q6 e-tron. New skills are required for this. Over 8,300 employees from Production, Technical Development and Sales have therefore undergone further training - and are boldly breaking new ground in the world of electric mobility. Seven examples.
Maria Salbeck switches to battery assembly
At Audi's headquarters in Ingolstadt, 27-year-old Maria Salbeck has decided to switch to electric mobility. The trained mechatronics technician for automation technology has undergone further training to become an expert in new battery assembly. She previously worked in the paint shop as a plant operator and at the Audi Training Center as a co-trainer. "Then I wanted to get back into production, back to the product," says Salbeck. She is now responsible for a wide range of battery assembly technologies and oversees an entire assembly line section. It is a step she does not regret. "If you want to, you have the opportunity to try out a lot of things at Audi and to develop personally," says Salbeck. "Sometimes you have to take a more difficult path and dare to jump in at the deep end." Salbeck's recipe for success is approaching each other and working together openly and closely as a team.
Attila Kovacs plans drive systems for the Premium Platform Electric
Attila Kovacs has worked at Audi for 25 years. In 2019, he switched from combustion engines to electric drives within Production Planning at Audi Hungaria in Győr. For Kovacs, switching to e-mobility was a pragmatic decision: "This technology will take on a leading role in the future. I want to play my part in this." Following series production of the Audi e-tron motor, since 2021, he and his team have been planning the drives for the Premium Platform Electric (PPE), on which the new Audi Q6 e-tron series, for example, is based.
The new special exhibition will be at the Audi museum mobile in Ingolstadt until March 2, 2025, where Audi Tradition will present aerodynamic concepts from 1945 to the present day.
The aerodynamics research that flourished before the Second World War and which was the subject of Audi Tradition’s “Windschnittig” exhibition (German for “streamlined”) that ran until the end of June received little attention after 1945. Europe’s automotive industry was busy getting back on its feet. During this period, pre-war developments were still in use and improved upon. It wasn’t until the rising cost of fuel during the 1973 oil crisis prompted a shift in thinking that automotive engineers began focusing on reducing fuel consumption. One of the dials used to achieve this was aerodynamic drag. In 1982, Audi made a splash with the Audi 100; its drag coefficient of 0.30 set a world record for production sedans, a value that would become the benchmark for years to come. The new Audi Tradition special exhibition “Form vollendet” (German for “form perfected”) showcases the Cd world champion Audi 100 alongside other models such as the NSU Ro 80, the Porsche 356, the Lamborghini Countach, and the Ducati Paso 950. Visitors will also have the opportunity to see concept cars and race cars from Audi’s history, such as the Audi 90 IMSA GTO from 1989, the 2012 Audi R18 e-tronquattro Le Mans race car, the 2013 “Audi Skorpion” concept car, and the 1984 Audi 80 Cd concept car, which the developers used to test the limits of what was feasible. Their goal was to achieve a drag coefficient of less than 0.2 – a goal which they ultimately achieved. The Audi A2 represents another milestone in aerodynamics. At its debut at the IAA in 1999, its design, geared towards optimum streamlining and unusual proportions at the time, polarized public opinion. The basic model with an aluminum Audi Space Frame body achieved a drag coefficient of 0.28.
In addition, Audi Hungaria transports parts, powertrains and vehicles between the production sites in Ingolstadt and Győr by carbon-neutral “green trains”. The company looks to the future: in 2024, it launched an ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) Master’s program in cooperation with Széchenyi István University in Győr, where future environmental professionals are trained with the help of the company’s experts.
Baker: The local proximity to our parent company Audi in Ingolstadt is a great advantage for us in many ways. There are many technical experts in the region, especially for the development of drivetrain components. The other F1 Power Unit manufacturers are based in the UK, France, Italy and Japan. If you want to bring in employees from competitors, they usually have to move to another country – that’s a challenge, but it’s no greater for us than for anyone else. People not only have to be prepared to change employer, but also the country. The fact that we were successful in recruiting experienced engineers and technicians from all other Power Unit manufacturers shows that our project and the location are attractive – also for international experts and talents. We now have a broad mix in the team with employees from 23 countries. Dreyer: Not only do we have a broad international base, but we have also strengthened our existing motorsport expertise at Audi Sport with external F1 expertise. This has helped to accelerate our learning curve considerably. Everyone is giving the project maximum speed and is eagerly looking forward to entering Formula 1. Motivation is extremely high, and we sense a strong team spirit. Can you give us an outlook? What topics are Neuburg and Hinwil already working on together? Dreyer: On the technical side, we are already working in a genuine factory team mode across both sites. The focus here is on integrating the Power Unit with important details such as thermal management. There is also close cooperation on the gearbox. We develop the internals in Neuburg, while the structural parts such as the gearbox housing and rear axle are produced in Hinwil. Testing of the complete drive, consisting of the Power Unit and transmission, then takes place on our powertrain test bench. This division is expedient in terms of performance and expertise. Baker: We made an early start with the 2026 concept team in Hinwil back in January 2023.
His design language will continue to shape the model range of the manufacturer from Ingolstadt for a long time to come.
As Head of the Exterior Studio at Volkswagen, Marc Lichte designed the epitome of automotive functionality with the Golf series V, VI, and VII. In 2014, he gave the brand with the four rings a preview of his design vision with his first concept cars, the Audi prologue and the Audi Q8 concept. Whether elegant classic cars such as the luxury sedan Audi A8 or sporty vehicles such as the RS 6 and RS Q8 – ten years later, all model generations embody Lichte’s clear vision of a reduced design language with its timeless and long-lasting impact. In February 2021, the premium brand introduced a fully electric Gran Turismo, the Audi e-tron GT – to Lichte it is “the most beautiful car I ever designed.” With the sphere concept vehicles, consisting of the Audi skysphere roadster, the Audi grandsphere sedan, the Audi urbansphere space concept, and the Audi activesphere concept as a four-door crossover coupé, Lichte demonstrated how Audi Design is helping to drive the company’s technological revolution. CEO Gernot Döllner: “For ten years, Marc and his team have done great things for the Audi brand and its design. He transferred series vehicles, including numerous market leaders, into new and attractive generations. At the same time, he accompanied the brand’s technical transition to electric mobility with his innovative design language and set the course for everything that is to come during the most exciting period in automotive design.”
Built by Auto Union GmbH in Ingolstadt in the post-war era, the last Horch, as the car is known, made its way to the United States before being rediscovered by Audi Tradition in 2008. Stefan Felber, curator of the Horch anniversary exhibition, commented: “As a fitting backdrop for these elegant and unique cars, the exhibition places them on the world’s greatest stages. All Horch exhibits can be seen framed by the interiors of famous opera houses, photographed by the internationally renowned and award-winning photographer, Rafael Neff. This collaboration results in a wonderful symbiosis of automotive and architectural works of art – Grand Opera!” Audi Forum Neckarsulm Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 8 AM to 4 PM, free admission; tours are available through the exhibition. The Audi Forum in Neckarsulm is closed Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, For more information, please visit Visitor service | Audi Forum in Neckarsulm.
This allowed the Ingolstadt engineers to fashion a car with a relatively large interior despite its total length of 3.49 meters. Two versions of the “mini Audi,” which weighs just 685 kilograms, were launched: the Audi 50 LS with 50 PS and the Audi 50 GL with 60 PS, both with 1.1-liter engines. The Audi 50 LS had a maximum speed of 142 kph, while the Audi 50 GL maxed out at 152 kph. The 50-PS version used regular gasoline, but the more powerful 60-PS car needed super-gasoline. In 1977, the latter variant was replaced by a newly developed 1,300 cc engine, which ran on ordinary gasoline. Responsibility for designing the appearance of the Audi 50 was entrusted to Hartmut Warkuß, who had previously designed the Audi 80. Warkuß crafted a delicate, timeless form around the package built by Ludwig Kraus. The Ingolstadt team presented the Audi 50 to the international media in Sardinia in the summer of 1974. It reached dealers for the first time on October 26: the Audi 50 LS was priced at 8,195 Deutschmarks, and the Audi 50 GL at 8,510 Deutschmarks. The “mini Audi” was planned and developed initially at Neckarsulm and later at Technical Development Ingolstadt and was built at the Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg. Precisely 43,002 Audi 50 models had come off the assembly lines in Wolfsburg by March 31, 1975, when production also started on the structurally almost identical VW Polo. Production of the Audi 50 ceased in the summer of 1978, by which time 180,828 models had been built. From then on, Audi has concentrated more on mid-range and higher-end cars. Even if the Audi 50 blossomed only for a few short years, it established the small-car segment in the Volkswagen Group; subsequently, millions of VW Polos were built over its various generations.
The Audi headquarters in Ingolstadt is the first Audi plant in Germany with its own battery assembly facility Integration of production into existing body shop and assembly structures The Q6 e-tron series rolls off the production line in Ingolstadt with net zero emissions
Since production started in late 2023, the Audi Q6 e-tron series has been the first high-volume fully electric model series that Audi has produced at its headquarters in Ingolstadt. In keeping with the brand’s 360factory production strategy, Audi has integrated individual production steps into existing body shop and assembly structures and processes. Since January 1, 2024, Ingolstadt is the third Audi location to manufacture with net zero emissions1, following Brussels (2018) and Győr (2020). In addition, the brand with the four rings’ headquarters is also the first Audi location in Germany to have its own battery assembly facility.
Audi CEO Gernot Döllner emphasizes the significance of the first model based on the Premium Platform Electric (PPE): “The PPE, and with it the Q6 e-tron series, form the basis for subsequent electric Audi models. In this way, we are taking a decisive step towards offering an electric model in all core segments by 2027.” Audi Board Member for Production and Logistics Gerd Walker sees the start of production as an important milestone for the 360factory production strategy: “By the end of the decade, we will have successively equipped all Audi locations for the production of electric models. We are harnessing electrification to comprehensively transform our existing plants. With the production of the Q6 e-tron series, the Ingolstadt plant is taking the next step towards becoming a 360factory.” Audi has a clear vision for the production of the future. As part of this holistic, sustainable approach, the company is modernizing, digitalizing, and transforming its existing plants.