'Vorsprung durch Technik' is one of the most enduring marketing slogans in the automotive industry – and one that has truly given expression to Audi’s focus.
It was first used in 1971 to showcase the technical diversity of the NSU range, then encompassing water-cooled front-drive, air-cooled rear-drive and rotary-engined models. But it really came into vogue in the 1980s with the radical Audi Quattro. At one point, the slogan was featured on the largest illuminated advert in Europe.
For the past few years, though, Audi has been more sparing in its use of Vorsprung durch Technik, with the focus on grappling with the advent of electrification and the need to reduce carbon emissions. Expect that to change, according to Gernot Döllner, Audi’s new CEO and chairman.
“I grew up with Vorsprung durch Technik,” he said, “but in the last few years, with not having [new] products, it was not the right time to talk about it. But this is still the core of the brand.”
That said, Döllner believes Audi needs to find “a new interpretation” of the slogan for a new era, with a focus on technology “that helps people”. In Döllner’s view, ‘vorsprung’ is about innovation as much as technology and hardware, and there’s a real focus on software.
“Thanks to shorter development times, we would like to demonstrate our Vorsprung durch Technik more clearly again,” he added. “At the same time, we are working on a paradigm shift towards the software-designed vehicle. Software will be the leading element in the development of future vehicles, with all other processes oriented towards it.”
That shift to software could well come to define Döllner’s time at the helm of Audi - and it has certainly been the most pressing issue that he has had to address since starting his role last September.
Formerly the Volkswagen Group's strategy boss after a long stint at Porsche, Döllner was appointed by Group chairman Oliver Blume in tough circumstances.
He was brought in to replace Markus Duesmann, who was reportedly sacked because of numerous delays to the Q6 E-tron, the first Audi model to sit on the new Premium Performance Electric (PPE) platform and use the new E3 software architecture developed by Audi and Cariad, the Volkswagen Group’s software arm.
The PPE platform and the E3 architecture are intended to underpin a whole range of models from not just Audi but the other premium and performance brands in the Volkswagen Group (Bentley, Lamborghini and Porsche), so its successful rollout was considered vital.
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