Audi starts Q4 e-tron production in Zwickau

Back to Zwickau: The fully electric compact model is the first electric SUV that Audi is manufacturing at a German location. The Q4 e-tron is based on the Volkswagen Group's Modular Electric Drive Toolkit (MEB). At the Zwickau multi-brand plant, the Q4 e-tron shares the production line with the Volkswagen ID.4 and, in the future, another VW model.

Tools from Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm

1,400 employees of Volkswagen Sachsen also manufacture the compact electric SUV on the assembly line. More than a hundred Audi employees have worked together with their Volkswagen colleagues to prepare for the production start-up—from production planning to technical development to quality assurance. The press tools for manufacturing the body parts all come from Audi toolmaking. From the early development phase, Audi toolmakers from Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm have been involved, with the processing of the many-ton press tools also taking place in the Audi plants.

Dr. Stefan Loth, Chairman of the Management Board of Volkswagen Sachsen, explains:

"With the production start of the Audi Q4 e-tron, the Volkswagen plant in Zwickau becomes a multi-brand location. This continues Saxony's long automotive history. Thank you to the Audi colleagues who are currently helping to produce the vehicles in the highest quality. Zwickau and the Audi brand share a long tradition: The Audi automobile factories were founded here in 1909."

The Volkswagen site has been converted into a purely electric plant and is part of the Group's comprehensive electric offensive. Since November 2020, more than two hundred Audi employees have temporarily switched to VW Sachsen—among them primarily young professionals who, after successfully completing their apprenticeships, are deployed in Zwickau for twelve months. As part of a personnel hub, they continue to qualify in the future field of electromobility.

Deliveries start in summer

The Audi Q4 e-tron will be unveiled to the world public in mid-April and will enter the European markets in the summer of 2021. By 2025, more than 20 fully electric models and a further expansion of the PHEV range are planned. Both of Audi's main plants in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm will also produce fully electric vehicles in the future: In Ingolstadt, the first e-model based on the Premium Platform Electric (PPE) developed jointly with Porsche will roll off the production line starting in 2022.

CO2-neutral Production on Balance

From the outset, the production of the Q4 e-tron is CO2-neutral on balance. The Zwickau plant uses 100% electricity from renewable energy sources and has a highly efficient combined heat and power plant. Additionally, Audi is working to further minimize CO2 emissions in the value chain. When the Audi Q4 e-tron reaches the end of its lifecycle, its battery is intended to be repurposed in second-life concepts or used as a raw material source through recycling.

What does this mean?

The Q4 e-tron has the potential to become Audi's most important car in the future. That it comes from the founding site of Zwickau completes a circle in Audi's history.