Sustainable logistics

It’s not the glamorous world of refining aerodynamics in the wind tunnel or performance testing new models around the Nurburgring, but it nevertheless goes towards the brand’s goal of becoming  net carbon neutral at all Audi sites by 2025. From now on, battery models and cells coming from Hungary to Audi Brussels will be transported by rail instead of by road – a move that will not only be significantly more cost effective but will also reduce annual carbon emissions by around 2600 tonnes each year.

Until now, battery modules and cells needed in Belgium for the Audi e-tron and Audi e-tron Sportback were transported by truck over the 1300-kilometre-long route from the supplier in Hungary. To meet the Belgian site’s demand, twelve to 15 fully loaded vehicles set off across Europe every day. This caravan of trucks will now be replaced by rail transport which sources power exclusively from renewable sources such as wind, water, or solar energy, making transport carbon-free.

This move being pioneered by Audi Brussels has implications far beyond this particular application with the potential to be extended to the entire company in the foreseeable future as part of Audi’s ongoing Mission:Zero initiative.

High-turnover components, such as battery modules and cells, will increasingly switch to delivery by rail and by 2025, Audi aims to transport all these components exclusively by train. At the company’s HQ in Ingolstadt, everything is ready to go for the production of batteries using modules and cells shipped by rail and the batteries will then be used to manufacture Audi models on site. New equipment and processes have been installed specifically for this purpose. And other plants are already waiting in the wings to switch to rail delivery of battery components. Similarly, a large share of the finished products are also shipped by rail, with around 68 percent of Audi vehicles in Europe already leave the plants by rail.

So while logistics may lack the panache of so many other areas of the Audi business, every effort to improve efficiency and sustainability has a positive impact on the end product and allows for the continued production of vehicle like the Audi RS e-tron GT.