Audi confirms self-piloting A8 for 2018; plans to release one EV every year

The latest reveal of Audi’s plans that will take concrete form from 2018 onwards come courtesy of Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Board of Management of Audi AG, speaking on Thursday at the company's Annual General Meeting in Germany. Stadler’s statement shows the Volkswagen Group’s luxury brand’s defiant stand in the face of BMW’s move towards increasingly high technology and forward thinking automobiles, and how Audi plans to counter them. The statement not only provided customers and industry watchers with Audi’s product roadmap but also deeper insights into the company’s alternative energy-propelled future.

First off, the next-generation version of Audi’s luxury flagship, the A8, will make its way to dealerships in 2018. Slated to be the first of Audi’s production cars capable of ‘piloted driving,’ the next A8 will be able to drive itself ‘temporarily’ on motorways at speeds of up to 60kmph. This kind of technology is already available in cars like the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class, so it remains to be seen what Audi’s flagship will do to move the game on. Stadler added that “by 2025, we will see fully automated driving.”

The other significant news from the meeting – perhaps even more significant – is that Audi plans to produce one new electric vehicle each year, starting in 2018. The first EV to come from this will likely be the Audi Q7 e-Tron Quattro "fully electric SUV" that Stadler says will arrive in 2018. He commented that the plant in charge of assembling this new vehicle will also be the location where its batteries are constructed. With a claimed range of ‘more than 500km’ Audi’s electric SUV will boast even more range than the Tesla Model S, which according to the US Environmental Protection Agency has a highway range of 488 kilometres.

Audi’s upcoming range of EVs won't be limited to unique badges, either. "[Not] only in market niches, but also in high-volume segments, in our successful Q family for example," said Stadler as part of his prepared remarks. He also called for a global fast-charging network.

Despite controversies like the diesel emissions scandal, Audi performed well in 2015 and delivered 1.8 million vehicles and made €4.8 billion. Stadler states that for 2016, the automaker is aiming for further growth and is currently on track to achieve this with the delivery of 620,100 cars in the first four months of this year, 4.9 percent higher than last year.