Audi 2015 Annual Report Download - page 135

BASIS OF THE AUDI GROUP
STRATEGY
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/MISSION: “WE DELIGHT CUSTOMERS WORLDWIDE”
Customer delight remains the mission at the heart of our
Strategy 2020. To fulfill our mission, we have defined four
strategic areas of activity for the Audi brand:
>We define innovation
>We create experiences
>We shape Audi
>We live responsibility
“Vorsprung durch Technik” takes center stage in our brand
identity, which encompasses the brand values sportiness,
progressiveness and sophistication. These are reflected in our
products and services. The Audi brand stands especially for
technological innovations, modern design as well as high-
caliber materials and build quality.
// WE DEFINE INNOVATION
We want to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of mobility
and deliver our brand essence of “Vorsprung durch Technik”
through innovative automobiles and intelligent mobility solu-
tions. Closely monitoring megatrends and global develop-
ments – such as urbanization and digitalization – and then
using the findings to identify future customer expectations
play a key role in our success.
At Audi, “Vorsprung durch Technik” also means meeting in-
creasing ecological demands. In an effort to reconcile driving
pleasure, sportiness and comfort with the lowest possible fuel
consumption, we pursue a multi-stage concept that ranges
from optimizing our current engine technologies and our
quattro drive to developing alternative drive concepts that we
present collectively under the umbrella term Audi tron. Plug-in
hybrid technology, all-electric drive and fuel cell technology as
well as the development of carbon-neutral fuels all play an
important role in this. In the interests of adopting a holistic
approach, we are also making steady progress with improving
the framework for alternative drive concepts – for example, we
have made advances in the field of inductive charging with
Audi Wireless Charging (AWC).
Further information on our drive concepts and charg-
ing technologies can be found under “Research and
development” on pages 149 ff.
Digitalization and connectivity are becoming increasingly im-
portant in the automotive industry. Through our optional Audi
connect services, for instance, we enable the vehicle to con-
nect to the Internet as well as with the infrastructure and
other vehicles. We are steadily expanding our range of Audi
connect services in order to satisfy the requirements of our
customers. We also work with various partners. For example,
we joined the Google Open Automotive Alliance (OAA) in 2014
and integrate the Android platform and its apps into our cars’
operating system via Google Android Auto. The functions of
iOS devices are also made available in the vehicle via Apple
CarPlay. Smartphone integration is currently available in the
new Audi A4 and new Audi Q7 under the name of Audi smart-
phone interface. To enable our customers in China to use their
smartphones in the car both quickly and seamlessly, we estab-
lished a partnership with Baidu Inc., China’s top search engine
provider, in 2015. We have also signed an agreement with
Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., one of the world’s largest net-
work providers, on the joint development and utilization of an
Asia-specific LTE module.
Piloted driving, too, is becoming increasingly important. A key
requirement for this is that vehicles are able to connect with
their environment and with each other. With the goal of access-
ing even more precise and more detailed data in the future, the
Audi Group, the BMW Group and Daimler AG each acquired an
equal interest in There Holding B.V., Rijswijk (Netherlands), in
the year under review, which took over the digital mapping
service HERE through a subsidiary. HERE has the vision of
developing an open platform that combines high-resolution
maps with location-specific real-time information in order to
provide customers with a detailed, second-by-second snapshot
of the real world.
Having already demonstrated our expertise in piloted driving
on the Hockenheimring in 2014 with the Audi RS7 piloted
driving concept, we presented our innovative strength in this
field several times during the past fiscal year.
Detailed information on our piloted driving activities
can be found under “We create experiences” on
p
age 136.