Audi News: Audi Investing $30.3 Billion Through 2018

[William Maley]

Audi has some very ambitious plans in the coming years. It's planning eleven new models and has set a new global sales goal of two million vehicles in the next few years. How will Audi pay this off? Well by investing more money.

According to Bloomberg, Audi has increased its investment by 500 million euros to 22 billion euros ($30.3 billion US). Seventy percent of the investment will go towards development of new vehicles and technologies.

“We are now decisively steering toward our next milestone. This is why we’re keeping our foot on the gas pedal regarding investments,” said CEO Rupert Stadler said in a statement.

There are two possible reasons why Audi has increase their investment. One is that the company has already achieved its goal of selling 1.5 million vehicles two year earlier than expected. Secondly, Audi is trying to get ahead of BMW and Mercedes-Benz who are planning their own product offensives in the coming years,

Source: Bloomberg

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

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[Drew Dowdell]

A lot of money... and on what? They already have new platforms, their drive trains are pretty good.... what else is there to spend that kind of coin on?

[Z-06]

Another way to not to give money back to the investors.

VW strategy is going to hurt it in long term. Too much grandiose plan in an ultra competitive field.

[G. David Felt]

30.3 billion investment sounds like Audi is going to push the envelope in Hybrid versions and alternative fuel versions of their auto's. Would not be surprised to see a self driving version also show up.

[Robert Hall]

Probably further development of e-tron and other technologies. Maybe get into the ecoperformance niche as BMW is doing w/ the i8...

[Drew Dowdell]

moar diesels please!

[smk4565]

Maybe they will make a RWD platform; they had previously stated the A8 needed a new chassis and a redo to compete with the S-class, and that was before the 2014 S-class even came out. My guess is electric cars in a big part of that, maybe a diesel-electric hybrid powertrain. Audi Q1 or A1 could be in there, and the usual updates to existing models.

It sounds like a lot of money until you think that is over 5 years, so $6 billion a year. Mercedes spends that much a year anyway.

[Drew Dowdell]

But they just did a new platform.

[smk4565]

There was rumor that the A8 would be RWD in the next generation around 2017. I feel like Audi is the German Acura, at the end of the day it is still a VW with AWD, much like an Acura is an AWD Honda.