“One Young World is much more than the usual networking between like-minded business leaders and companies. It is a meeting place for young activists, future leaders, and current decision-makers from business, politics, and society. If we really want to make a difference for our future, we need to inspire others to join us on this path,” says Xavier Ros, who has been Member of the Board of Management for Human Resources and Organization at Audi since May 2022, in summary of Audi’s commitment to One Young World. Ros will use his keynote speech at the beginning of the conference – which will also be his first public appearance as Audi’s new Member of the Board of Management for Human Resources and Organization – to support sustainable innovation and business models in direct dialogue with young talents.

This year’s conference will focus on conflict prevention, gender equality, ocean ecosystems, ethical leadership, and health. More than 2,000 participants from over 190 countries are expected to attend, among them high-ranking guests from the world of politics and science, such as former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

The Audi delegation consists of ten selected Audi employees from all production sites and four Bentley employees, as well as 15 external scholarship holders whose projects are supported by the Audi Environmental Foundation. All 29 representatives are between 21 and 35 years old and have launched promising projects aimed at sustainability, environmental protection, and social justice. This deliberate mix of employees and young founders who are independent of Audi is Audi’s way of promoting the exchange of ideas within and outside the company.

Focus on a sustainable future

One delegation member is Philipp Eder. The sustainability strategist from Audi Procurement is working on implementing material cycles, his efforts already resulting in pilot projects with automotive glass and mixed plastic waste. “At Audi Procurement, our goal is to use secondary materials wherever it is technically possible and makes ecological and economic sense,” says Eder, who works for Audi in Ingolstadt. “For me personally, it is a great pleasure to be part of Audi’s sustainability story. I am able to put my personal passion for sustainability into practice and make our supply chain more sustainable and circular every day.” Next, Eder wants to work with partner companies from the Audi supplier network to process irreparable car windows so that they can be used as secondary material in new car glass.

Franziska Trautmann is participating in the conference as an Audi Environmental Foundation scholarship holder. The American commissioned the first glass recycling plant in the state of Louisiana. There, Trautmann and her team from “Glass Half Full” now process glass into sand, which is then filled into the sandbags that are essential for survival in flood-stricken Louisiana. “My vision is to roll out Glass Half Full throughout Louisiana and the United States. There are so many large cities without glass recycling that also have problems with coastal erosion and where sand can be an advantage,” says Trautmann. In total, “Glass Half Full” has already collected and recycled more than one million kilograms of used glass. “I look forward to networking with other young executives from all over the world and learning from them about their organizations and their expertise,” says Trautmann about her anticipation of the event.

Part of Audi’s “Mission:Zero” strategy

On the conference stage, Rüdiger Recknagel, Chief Environmental Officer at AUDI AG and Managing Director of the Audi Environmental Foundation, and Peter Bosch, Member of the Board for Manufacturing at Bentley Motors Ltd., will also discuss the efforts of the brand with the four rings to reduce its ecological footprint. “Audi is bundling all environmental protection activities in production and logistics in the Mission:Zero environmental program,” explains Recknagel. “Mission:Zero focuses on four areas of activity: decarbonization in production and logistics, water use, resource efficiency, and biodiversity. Our ambitious goal is to achieve net carbon-neutral production by 2025 and to halve water consumption at all plants by 2035.” About Audi subsidiary Bentley, Peter Bosch says: “Our “Beyond100” strategy outlines our road to sustainability. It builds on the carbon-neutral status of our factory since 2018 and continuing to off-set less. Our intention is to become carbon neutral, end-to-end, and 100% electric, from 2030.”

First held in 2009, over the years the One Young World Summit has become a permanent annual fixture for decision-makers and future leaders around the world. Audi has attended every year since 2016.

Starting at 8:00 p.m., DJ Oldschool will provide musical accompaniment, sending the visitors back to the 1970s and 1980s. On top of that, the employees at the Audi museum mobile have prepared a series of special tours. A children’s tour will start at 6:10 p.m., and tours at 7:30, 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. will go through the special exhibition “The Fifth Ring” – about the history of NSU, the oldest traditional brand that makes up today’s AUDI AG.

The detailed program can be found on the website of city of Ingolstadt, which is organizing the Night of Museums: ndm.ingolstadt.de.

Article source: www.audi-mediacenter.com

Second phase of the development program

“We’ve managed a good debut at the Dakar with the Audi RS Q e-tron and even our first stage victories in a motorsport discipline that is new to us,” says Rolf Michl, Managing Director of Audi Sport GmbH and responsible for motorsport at Audi. “The entire team is working excellently together and pulling in the same direction. As is usual at such an early stage, the drivers, co-drivers and technicians quickly agreed on the next development targets. We have summarized the result in a new evolution package – the RS Q e-tron E2.” This marks the beginning of the second phase of the development program. In October, Team Audi Sport will prepare for the 2023 Dakar Rally with the new prototype in Morocco.

Audi announced its entry at a press conference at the Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps. At the event, Markus Duesmann, Chairman of the Board of Management of AUDI AG, and Oliver Hoffmann, Member of the Board of Management for Technical Development, answered questions in the company of Formula 1 President and CEO Stefano Domenicali and Mohammed ben Sulayem, President of the International Automobile Federation (FIA).

“Motorsport is an integral part of Audi’s DNA,” says Markus Duesmann. “Formula 1 is both a global stage for our brand and a highly challenging development laboratory. The combination of high performance and competition is always a driver of innovation and technology transfer in our industry. With the new rules, now is the right time for us to get involved. After all, Formula 1 and Audi both pursue clear sustainability goals.”

The key to getting involved is the world’s most popular racing series is the clear plan to become more sustainable and cost-efficient. The new technical rules, which will apply from 2026, focus on greater electrification and advanced sustainable fuel. In addition to the existing cap on costs for teams, a cost cap for power unit manufacturers will be introduced in 2023. In addition, Formula 1 has set itself the ambitious goal of being a carbon-neutral racing series by 2030.

Actively Shaping Formula 1’s Transformation

Oliver Hoffmann, Member of the Board for Technical Development, says: “In view of the major technological leaps that the series is making towards sustainability in 2026, we can speak of a new Formula 1. Formula 1 is transforming, and Audi wants to actively support this journey. A close link between our Formula 1 project and AUDI AG’s Technical Development department will enable synergies.”

From 2026, the electric power output for the power units, consisting of an electric motor, battery, control electronics, and a combustion engine, will increase sharply compared to today’s Formula 1 drive systems. The electric motor will then be nearly as powerful as the combustion engine, which has an output of about 400 kW (544 hp). The highly efficient 1.6-liter turbo engines run on advanced sustainable fuel – also a prerequisite for Audi’s entry into the series.

High Popularity in Key Markets and with Young Target Groups

Globally recognized, highly emotional, and technologically advanced – that’s how Formula 1 has met Audi’s exact requirements. The series holds races in all relevant markets of the brand. As a spectacular platform for the most demanding electrified racing cars in the world, it is of particular interest to car manufacturers. Audi is taking on the challenge of proving its “Vorsprung durch Technik” in this competitive environment.

The great interest in Formula 1 is global and the racing series is one of the sporting events with the highest reach in the world. In 2021, more than 1.5 billion TV viewers watched the races. Formula 1 is popular in key markets such as China and the USA, and the trend continues to rise – even among young target groups. On social media, Formula 1 is now experiencing the highest growth rates among the world’s most popular sports.

Neuburg Site to Develop the Power Unit

The power unit will be built at Audi Sport’s state-of-the-art Competence Center Motorsport in Neuburg an der Donau, not far from AUDI AG’s company headquarters in Ingolstadt. “For the development and manufacture of the Formula 1 power train, we will build on the valuable expertise of our motorsport employees, continue to invest in our motorsports center, and also recruit highly specialized professionals,” says Audi Sport Managing Director Julius Seebach, who organized the entry into Formula 1 as part of Audi’s realignment of motorsport.

In Neuburg there are already test benches for F1 engine testing as well as for electric motor and battery testing. Additional necessary preparations are currently being made in terms of personnel, buildings, and technical infrastructure, with everything essential to be in place by the end of the year. A separate company was recently founded for the power unit project as a wholly owned subsidiary of Audi Sport. Adam Baker will take over the management of the company and thus the Formula 1 project as CEO. The trained engineer has held various senior positions for manufacturers and teams in motorsport. Before joining Audi in 2021, he worked for the FIA for three years.

Audi will announce a decision on which team they will be lining up with in 2026 by the end of this year.

Formula 1 Decision Governs Motorsport Focus

Audi Sport is pooling its strengths for the Formula 1 project and as a consequence is discontinuing its LMDh project. The motorsport division had recently suspended the development of the sports car for endurance racing. Alongside customer racing, Audi Sport will continue its innovation project with the RS-Q e-tron in the Dakar Rally. Next year, Audi’s aim is overall victory in the desert.

Whether the World Rally Championship, World Sportscar Championship, US motorsport, DTM, Le Mans, or Formula E – Audi Sport has set standards in many categories with numerous titles. “Formula 1 is the next major milestone in Audi’s motorsport history,” says Julius Seebach.

Rolf Michl to succeed Julius Seebach

Audi’s entry into Formula 1 marks the conclusion of its motorsport restructure, but also the close of a formative period at Audi Sport GmbH. Managing Director Julius Seebach will join AUDI AG on September 1, 2022, and will take on a new strategic business area in Technical Development, reporting directly to the Executive Board.

Hoffmann, who, in his role as an Executive Board member also serves as Chairman of the Advisory Board of Audi Sport GmbH, would like to thank Seebach for his performance: “Julius stands for strategic foresight, consistent action, and sustainable results in challenging times.” Under his leadership, Audi Sport GmbH has repeatedly achieved record sales and earnings figures. Sales doubled with the RS model offensive and the all-electric RS e-tron GT was successfully brought to market.

In 2020, Seebach also assumed responsibility for motorsport at Audi and resolutely made it ready for the future. Under his leadership, the most complex racing car in Audi history was developed in record time: the RS Q e-tron for the Dakar Rally. Following its successful debut with four stage wins at the Dakar Rally in January, the Audi RS Q e-tron achieved its first overall victory in Abu Dhabi in March – the first triumph of a car with an electric powertrain in a desert rally. Entering Formula 1 is the successful conclusion of his work.

Starting September 1, Seebach will be succeeded by Rolf Michl, who has been Chief Operating Officer Racing at Audi Sport since February. Together with Dr. Sebastian Grams, he will form the Management Board of Audi Sport GmbH. Michl has a degree in business administration and is a long-standing member of the Audi Sport family. After holding various positions in marketing at AUDI AG and Audi Sport, he took over as Head of Product Marketing RS Models in 2016. After moving to Abt Sportsline as Director Vehicle Customization, he returned to Audi Sport GmbH as Head of Sales/Marketing in 2019. Michl has played a key role in shaping the company’s portfolio and sales successes over time. Hoffmann notes that “Rolf is an authentic leader and brings with him the experience he will need from motorsport and series production.” In addition to his positions in marketing, Michl was responsible for devising and implementing the Audi Sport TT Cup in 2014.

Article source: www.audi-mediacenter.com