Audi commits to EV plan

Audi is aiming to have electric car sales account for a quarter of its sales by 2025, Automotive News reports. The target is part of a strategic overhaul of the company, following the emissions-cheating scandal at parent Volkswagen Group, and will see the car maker now invest about a third of its research and development budget into electric cars, digital services and autonomous driving. In order to meet the target, at least 450,000 electric cars will need to be sold each year, based on the 1.8 million units sold by Audi last year, placing the car maker as a major competitor to Tesla. Tesla has pledged to sell 500,000 electric cars by 2020, or sooner. To fund the strategy, Audi will cut back on its conventional combustion car programme, including reducing country-specific variants of engines and transmissions. Currently, only two of the marque’s 50 models are electric or semi-electric. However, Audi says it is developing its first electric SUV, based on the e-tron quattro concept unveiled at the Frankfurt auto show last year, and tipped to challenge Tesla’s Model X.