Audi to invest &euro;100m in EV charging in Germany

Audi is investing around €100m ($111m) to deploy more than 4,600 charging points at its plants by mid-2022 in the biggest infrastructure project of its kind carried out by a German employer. An Audi team has been developing the project since 2017 and will oversee all aspects, from design to operation and maintenance and technology support. The car company said the chargers will also be available to the public.

Audi is working to electrify one in ten parking spaces at its German plants by mid-2022; most of these charging spaces will be accessible to the public.





This independent concept is the largest charging infrastructure project carried out by a German employer. The ~€100-million investment provides Audi with a head start in terms of setup and operation expertise for the hardware and software of such charging concepts while also allowing the company to pilot a new business area of mobility.

At the main plant in Ingolstadt alone, there will be 3,500 charging points available in the final development. There will be 1,000 charging points in Neckarsulm, just under 100 in Brussels and Győr. Likewise, charging infrastructure will be built at the factory in San José Chiapa. The company already offers expansive charging capacities at the training centers at Munich Airport.

A separate project team has therefore been preparing and structuring the concept for the implementation since the middle of 2017. The fundamental decision to electrify 10% of all parking spaces was made a year earlier.

The project team is responsible for planning the entire strategy, investment, and concept, and manages the setup and operation of the charging infrastructure as well as the billing of charging procedures at the Audi sites. In this context, the charging points are expanded to suit the needs of the employees and other people using the parking lot, the charging infrastructure is designed accordingly, operating rules are set, and a hotline and support are provided. Recording that complies with calibration law and invoicing of the charging procedures are further important aspects.

At the sites in Brussels, Ingolstadt, and Neckarsulm, charging infrastructure with a total power input of 21 megawatts is already available. This corresponds to the power consumption of a small town with 14,000 inhabitants. This includes 600 charging points with an output of up to 22 kilowatts (kW) and 60 direct current charging points with an output between 50 and 350 kW.

By the middle of 2022, there will be 4,500 charging points, each with an output of up to 22 kW, and approx. 50 more with an output of up to 350 kW each at the plant sites alone. A dynamic and intelligent load-management system will be controlling all power input across sites this year already, so the power connection does not need be expanded.

In addition, there is the equipment of the three Audi Training Center locations at Munich airport. Audi’s largest individual charging park with a power input of 2.1 megawatts is connected to the grid here.

In connection with the construction of the new ATC IV building, the solar power generated is used for the charging procedure in combination with a battery buffer storage device.

The project team has also created its own navigation map on the basis of Google Maps that allows employees to see in real time where charging terminals are available. Invoicing via online systems and the integration in an internal settlement system are further services.