- 100% renewable energy: accredited through GreenPower and sourced from the Capital Wind Farm precinct
- Sansom: "With the arrival of our first electric vehicle, we believe the time is right for us to make a commitment to a sustainability"
- First electric Audi vehicles in Australia: the Audi e-tron and e-tron Sportback
Canberra, October 2, 2020 – Audi Australia is announcing its commitment to 100% renewable energy as a business from 2021, accredited through GreenPower and primarily sourced from the Capital Wind Farm precinct near Canberra.
"Our 100% renewable energy commitment, as a business, is in-line with what we believe should be the expectations placed upon us as a leader in sustainable mobility," said Paul Sansom, Managing Director of Audi Australia.
"The arrival of our first electric vehicle, the Audi e-tron, makes this the right time for us to make such a commitment; however this is not the end by any means, rather just the start. It's the beginning of our journey in zero-emissions motoring, and we plan to build and develop our contribution in the years to come.
"All e-tron vehicles are produced in Brussels, which is the world's first certified carbon-neutral large-scale production plant in the premium segment. Audi has already stated its ambitious product plans for 30 electrified models by 2025 and this strategy will be an important part of our future success in Australia," said Sansom.
GreenPower is a government-managed program that ensures that individuals and businesses who buy from GreenPower Providers support greater renewable energy generation in Australia. GreenPower independently audits electricity providers to make sure the right amount of renewable energy is fed into the grid on the customers' behalf.
"GreenPower is pleased to partner with Audi on its journey to sustainability and applauds its commitment to be powered by 100% renewable energy from 2021," said Tim Stock, Chairman of the National GreenPower Steering Group.
"Audi's commitment to GreenPower involves purchasing renewable energy certificates from its electricity retailer to offset the total annual energy usage from its business operations on an annual basis. This means that they can be confident that the renewable energy they are purchasing is from renewable sources and more importantly, enables the GreenPower program to accredit and assess the certificates that are coming from a renewable energy source," said Stock.
"For those of us in the renewable energy industry, it's been a dream to see the future of zero-emission motoring become a reality," said Marcus Dorreen, spokesperson for Infigen Energy. Infigen is the operator of the Capital Wind Farm precinct, where most of Audi Australia's renewable energy will be sourced from.
"It's quite an auspicious occasion. We all remember the first time we saw a CD, or a smartphone. We're seeing today some of the first new electric vehicles from major manufacturers around the world. We're incredibly excited to work with new partners like Audi," said Dorreen.
The first-ever Audi e-tron and Audi e-tron Sportback vehicles are available from an initial network of seven e-tron dealers, and also available to order through the Audi online purchase platform, at audi.com.au.
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The Audi Group, with its brands Audi, Ducati and Lamborghini, is one of the most successful manufacturers of automobiles and motorcycles in the premium segment. It is present in more than 100 markets worldwide and produces at 18 locations in 13 countries. 100 percent subsidiaries of AUDI AG include Audi Sport GmbH (Neckarsulm), Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. (Sant'Agata Bolognese, Italy) and Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. (Bologna, Italy).
In 2018, the Audi Group delivered to customers about 1.812 million automobiles of the Audi brand, 5,750 sports cars of the Lamborghini brand and 53,004 motorcycles of the Ducati brand. In the 2018 fiscal year, AUDI AG achieved total revenue of €59.2 billion and an operating profit before special items of €4.7 billion. At present, approximately 90,000 people work for the company all over the world, more than 60,000 of them in Germany. Audi focuses on sustainable products and technologies for the future of mobility.